OKC Thunder: Al Horford returning next season still could be an option

Trading Al Horford this offseason will be a challenging goal to accomplish, and the veteran could even wind up staying put with the OKC Thunder

For a little over a month now, it has been more evident than ever before that the OKC Thunder have fully committed themselves to the tank, and the first domino that seemingly fell was in the shape of their decision to go about benching veteran big man, Al Horford, for the rest of the year to give their youngsters more on-court action.

Mutually accepted by both parties, the plan was for Horford to serve as a veteran presence on the bench throughout the rest of this current campaign, and then, come the offseason, Sam Presti and co. would make it one of their top priorities — to some, it’s viewed as the top priority — to trade him to a team that’s better served for both his skillset and age range.

From strictly an on-court production standpoint, there seem to be many teams that would benefit from having the center in tow, as the 5x All-Star put forth quite a solid campaign for the Thunder in 2020-21, posting averages of 14.2 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 3.4 assists on 45 percent shooting from the floor and 37 percent shooting from deep.

However, the problem is that his fit within an interested team’s rotation is not the only factor at play when it comes to concocting a deal but, rather, his fit within the buying team’s payroll.

Currently 34 years old, Horford finds himself in just the second year of a four-year, $109 million contract that pays him an average of $27 million until he turns the ripe age of 36 in 2022-23.

Right from the jump, when putting pen to paper on such a deal with the Philadelphia 76ers back in 2019-20, the consensus vote amongst fans and media alike was that it was an egregious overpay for a man whose best days were likely already behind him.

Now, fast-forward nearly two years later and we find the 14-year veteran on his second team during this span, with the hope of him landing on his third come the start of next season.

But here’s the problem — how on earth can the OKC Thunder offload Horford without either taking on another bad contract or coughing up some draft capital sweeteners along with him, both of which are things the front office seemingly does not wish to do?

Over the past several months we’ve seen numerous people take a crack at trying to concoct a hypothetical trade involving the big man heading elsewhere this offseason and, often, it involves Oklahoma City giving up far too much (usually picks) which, as we all know, is not something Sam Presti has ever been keen on doing.

Unfortunately, as things currently stand it would appear that unless the front office eases up on their disdain for giving up some relatively useful assets in a deal or simply bite the bullet and buy out the center, there’s a realistic chance that OKC fans could see Al Horford still under contract with the franchise come the start of next season.

Now, would this be the worst thing in the world to see? Of course not, for having veterans on rosters can certainly prove to be unbelievably valuable, especially when it comes to one as young as Oklahoma City’s.

However, if the desire is to try and trade Al Horford while giving up little else in the process, perhaps the Thunder’s best course of action would be to have him log minutes once more for the franchise in 2021-22, try to build up his value once more, and wait things out a little longer to shed some of the coin from his contract that would be absorbed by another team.

Trading the big man will not be an easy task to accomplish by any means. However, opting to hold onto him heading into the season and waiting for next year’s deadline could end up proving to be worth it for the OKC Thunder should they wish to not part with the sweeteners that likely would be required in a trade should one happen this offseason.

With every passing day, Horford’s contract gets less and less expensive, which, in turn, could start to draw the attention of more and more front offices looking to win now.