5 free agency destinations for Al Horford

While Boston Celtics general manager Danny Ainge may covet Cleveland Cavaliers power forward Kevin Love above anybody else on another NBA roster, it may be a better decision to bring in Horford on a maximum contract in free agency this summer to help turn a great Boston team into an elite one in the Eastern Conference.

Head coach Brad Stevens has already massively outperformed in the last two years with the roster of essentially role players that Ainge has given him. Jae Crowder has become a great forward in this league, Evan Turner is showing the brilliance he played with when he was at Ohio State, and diminutive point guard Isaiah Thomas is now an All-Star under Stevens’ tutelage.

Boston is already a top four team in the East even without a perennial All-Star on its roster. Going after Horford aggressively in free agency may help this collection of talent already assembled in Boston ascend to greatness.

Horford could play either the four of the five with the Celtics at a very high level, likely garnering a few more trips to the NBA All-Star Game into his early 30s. While he’s not going to lead a team to an NBA Finals in most situations as the team’s best player, if there is any situation where it could work besides what he already has in Atlanta, Boston seems like the best fit for Horford in the back-end of his prime.

Should he help this collective of players in Boston contend for an NBA championship under Stevens, it could go a long way in solidifying how great of a player Horford is on a national level. Winning in Boston isn’t like winning anywhere else, it means more. Horford going to Boston makes the Celtics a team capable of making it to an Eastern Conference Finals annually.

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