The Golden State Warriors went most of the offseason without making a single acquisition. While Western Conference rivals around them were making moves to bolster their rosters, the Warriors kept staring at Jonathan Kuminga, without much success. Considering Stephen Curry isn’t getting any younger, this was a reason to worry. However, the team did sign Al Horford only a few days before training camp.
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Horford may not be the same All-Star he was years ago, but the Warriors believe he can be their missing piece. The five-time All-Star, meanwhile, required some time to think about his future in the NBA. Horford is 39 years old and understands his time in the NBA is only getting shorter.
However, the 6-foot-9 big man still has something left in the tank, which is precisely why some experts believe he fits in like a glove. Golden State has never quite had a big man with the ability to stretch the floor like Horford does, at least during the Stephen Curry era.
Times have changed, as teams have begun to integrate double big lineups back into their offensive and defensive philosophies. Horford certainly helps in that regard. The question is, how will Horford fit alongside Draymond Green? Warriors head coach Steve Kerr believes the answer is quite simple.
“The beauty of Al is that he’s very versatile,” Kerr said on Dubs Talk. “He’s good with anybody. Al Horford can play in any lineup.”
One of the building blocks of Kerr’s legacy as a coach has been his versatility. It one of the reasons he helped Green develop into such a successful player throughout his career, despite the future Hall of Famer being an undersized power forward at 6-foot-6.
Kerr looks at Horford in the same light. The Warriors have plenty of bigs who can make an impact depending on the matchup. But one of the beauties of Horford’s game is that he can adjust his game accordingly and play in just about any position the boss puts him in, which makes him any coach’s favorite’s player.
“He can be a four and space the floor. Play with Trayce or Quinten and have Draymond be the five. He can also be the five and put a five-man shooting lineup out there. It’s really exciting just to think about the possibilities with him,” Kerr continued.
It isn’t ideal for the Warriors to depend on Green to play the center position as they did last season. They were able to get away with it against the Houston Rockets in their first-round matchup. However, they added Kevin Durant, who will require more defensive attention as compared to Alperen Sengun.
It was apparent in their second-round matchup against the Minnesota Timberwolves that Green can only do so much while facing a serious height difference. Now that Horford is on the team, the Warriors won’t have to put Green in positions they don’t deem fit.
“Ideally, we just don’t play [Green] heavy minutes at the five. So it’d be nice to limit those minutes to 10 or 12 every night,” Kerr said.
The expectation is for Horford to begin the season starting for Golden State. While it does mean their starting lineup will be up there in age, they do have a plethora of experience at their disposal. It’ll be interesting to witness how that pans out once the 2025-26 NBA season begins.
