5 free agency destinations for Al Horford

Horford’s loyalty to the NBA team that drafted him and the only franchise he’s ever played for in the Hawks will absolutely be tested in free agency. However, Atlanta should remain the frontrunner to re-sign Horford to a near maximum contract this summer.

For the first time in his nine-year NBA career, the Atlanta front office has stability and the organization is in a good place with the backing of a new, committed ownership group led by majority owner Antony Ressler. Atlanta has a great head coach in place in Mike Budenholzer, a roster that is keen on player development, and a team that annually has an opportunity to make a statement in the Eastern Conference playoffs.

Atlanta has Bird Rights on Horford, meaning that the Hawks organization can offer him one more year and more money to entice him to stay with the club for a 10th NBA season and beyond.  If Horford trusts the process that Budenholzer and general manager Wes Wilcox have in place to turn Atlanta into a championship caliber team in the next few years, Horford may want to ride out his NBA journey with the Hawks.

He’d have to play out of position at center while in Atlanta because of the strong play of power forward Paul Millsap, but that’s something Horford has dealt with his entire NBA career. Atlanta may never fully become an annually elite team in the East with this current roster, but retaining Horford at least gives the Hawks a chance to stay relevant in the conference as a perennial playoff team.

All it would take is another fantastic year in Atlanta like 2014-15 was for the Hawks to knock on the door of the city’s first NBA championship. The Hawks were on the doorsteps of greatness only a year ago. Now that the franchise has tasted playoff relevancy, it may stand as a pivotal point in Horford’s decision to stay with Atlanta for the next several seasons.