OKC Thunder: Projecting the team’s top 6 scorers for 2020-21
Al Horford
After signing a four-year, $109 million contract with the Philadelphia 76ers last offseason, Al Horford was traded to the OKC Thunder after only one year, as both teams try to go in different directions.
Horford, who is 34, will be on his third team in three years after spending the first nine years of his career in Atlanta.
Sharing the court with Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons caused the veteran’s production to drop and may have made him appear to be a worse player than he actually still is.
Oklahoma City will look to buy low and sell high on Horford, just like they did last year with Chris Paul. A five-time All-Star, the 13-year-veteran will need to show he can still contribute to winning basketball, and OKC will give him the opportunities to do so.
While Horford isn’t officially a member of the Thunder yet he will most likely be, on December 8th when OKC can officially package Danny Green in a trade.
Horford’s value is extremely low at the moment so the chances of him being flipped like Kelly Oubre or Ricky Rubio are very small. Most likely, Sam Presti is looking to repeat what happened with Chris Paul and try to get value out of him after a year of good basketball.
Al Horford is not a big-time scorer, only averaging 13.9 points a game for his career, but with very little scoring returning OKC will look to the big man to help contribute more offensively.
The big man is a jack of all trades, as he can shoot the three, pass, rebound, and score at the rim.
If he is able to display all the tools he possesses for the Thunder, he could build his value tremendously.
Al Horford and Mike Muscala are the only true bigs currently on the Thunder’s roster, which will allow the veteran the freedom he needs to show his skillset.
Horford and Muscala’s ability to stretch the floor will help everyone on the team, giving them more shots at the rim with opposing bigs having to respect the three.
Horford averaged almost 12 points a game last year, but that was due to the 76ers not knowing where to play him. With a lack of frontcourt depth, big Al will get a lot of playing time and could average 15 or 16 points per game.