OKC Thunder: 3 players fans should monitor in season debut
By Mark Nilon
OKC Thunder player to monitor No. 2) Al Horford
Acquired in the offseason deal that sent Terrance Ferguson, Danny Green, and Vincent Poirier to the Philadelphia 76ers, veteran big man Al Horford is a player that, frankly, fans should monitor all season, but we’ll start things off by having you watch him in tonight’s debut.
After signing a massive 4-year, $109 million contract with the Sixers last offseason Horford went on to post one of his worst all-around seasons since entering the league, as he averaged just 11.9 points, 6.8 rebounds on 45 percent shooting.
Now, on a team in the midst of a full-blown rebuild, it’s likely that a player such as Horford, despite his lowly season, would be best suited on a contender or, at least, a team looking to make a playoff push.
OKC is neither of those things.
The only problem is, Sam Presti can’t really flip him just yet, as his value is still crazy low thanks to his underwhelming campaign in 2019-20 and, thus, we still find him on the roster.
With this, it is imperative that the 34-year-old plays well this season, as it would raise his trade stock which, in turn, could nab the Thunder more assets to add to their already illustrious collection.
This is no insult to Horford, however, as we believe he can still be a quality contributor and even a valuable veteran asset to this young OKC Thunder squad. Having said that, it would simply be best for both parties if they were to split at some point this season, one, to help Oklahoma City tank a bit more and, two, to potentially get the big man back in a situation where he can attain his first championship.