Atlanta Hawks: Al Horford welcomes long stay in Atlanta as extension negotiations begin
Hawks, Horford begin negotiations on contract extension.
Over the next few weeks the Hawks and Al Horford’s agent, Arn Tellem, will work on the terms of a contract extension beyond 2010-11 for Atlanta’s All-Star center.
That’s the money side of the equation, and Horford said negotiations are in the early stages. After considering the other factors that play into his decision, Horford said he would like to stay in Atlanta for the long term.
“How do you see yourself with the team?” Horford said about his thought process. “Do you think the team is going the right way? Obviously, you have to factor in do you like the city you are in, [do you] get along with the guys [teammates]?
“All those things favor me because I feel like we are in a good position. We’ve been playing together. This is my fourth year with the team, and I love the city of Atlanta. So I am just waiting to see what happens with this whole thing.”
Horford is set to make $5.4 million in 2010-11, the final year of his rookie-scale contract. The Hawks have until Nov. 1 to come to terms with Horford on an extension that starts in 2011-12 and can be for up to five years and about $82 million under current CBA rules.
If the sides don’t reach an agreement by then, Horford would become a restricted free agent next summer if the Hawks extend a one-year, $7.1 million qualifying offer by June 30. The Hawks would then retain the right to match any offer sheets signed by Horford.
Hawks GM Rick Sund, citing his policy of not speaking publicly about players’ contracts, declined to comment on negotiations with Horford.
Horford, 24, was the No. 3 overall selection as an early-entrant prospect out of Florida in the 2007 draft. Eastern Conference coaches voted him to his first All-Star team last season and new Hawks coach Larry Drew recently named Horford as a tri-captain along with Joe Johnson and Josh Smith.
This summer Horford, who is undersized by NBA center standards at 6-10 and 245 pounds, said the Hawks needed to add an “impact” center to be a contender in the East. The Hawks ended up signing free agent centers Jason Collins and Etan Thomas to veteran’s minimum contracts.
But Horford said he’s looking forward to Drew’s plan of playing him at power forward alongside Zaza Pachulia, Collins or Thomas.
“I think with Coach Drew’s new mindset, he plans to play me more at the four, which is encouraging to me,” Horford said. “I am happy about that. Obviously I still would like to play center, but if I can spend more time at the four, that would be great.”
MC
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
175 comments Add your comment
Jamal Crawford hoping for new deal with Hawks – The Associated Press | Basketball Video Zone
October 4th, 2010
11:28 pm
[...] Atlanta Journal Constitution (blog) [...]
bigdave
October 4th, 2010
11:31 pm
“New Hawks add ‘physicality’ ” article went with the fruitiest of photos to showcase our new “tough guy” bigs.. smh.
Melvin
October 4th, 2010
11:42 pm
Hmmm, pretty fair analysis by Hoopsworld..
http://www.hoopsworld.com/teams/Rankings.asp
Hmmm
October 4th, 2010
11:51 pm
YES!
NEW SCRIMMAGE FOORTAGE! PEEP THA VID!
http://www.nba.com/hawks/video/2010/10/04/OCT4SCRIMHIGHLIGHTS-1431333/index.html
Hmmm
October 5th, 2010
12:04 am
CBS INTERVIEW WITH LARRY DREW.
THAT REPORTER IS HOT!
Hmmm
October 5th, 2010
12:05 am
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_JOEzxiskE&feature=player_embedded#!
EN FUEGO!
Samuel
October 5th, 2010
12:21 am
In order for us to get to the next level, either Josh or Al will have to be traded for a “legitimate” center. Sure we can keep both but that would minimize both their effectiveness. Josh has proven time and time again that he cannot play the 3 position on offense or defense and Al keeps telling us that he want’s to be moved to the four. He doesn’t want to be seen as a guy who rocks the boat so he hasn’t really demanded it, “yet”. Sure, he likes Atlanta but he can see the handwriting on the wall as far as his maximum potential as a pro. He’ll always be the 3rd or 4th Best center in the East behind Howard, Lopez and a healthy Bogat. At PF he’s next in line after KG.
Again, I personally would keep Josh but I would be just content with Al. Otherwise, we will make the playoffs but we will never move past the second round and please don’t give me the Detroit analogy and Big Ben. the steroid era is over.
Najeh Davenpoop
October 5th, 2010
1:21 am
Did I really see Jason Collins leading a fast break and dishing to Josh for a dunk? Is it 2012 already?
cheeseburgerless collins
October 5th, 2010
2:03 am
Pay Al!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Our best player
jason
October 5th, 2010
8:14 am
@najeh
lol
O'Brien
October 5th, 2010
8:18 am
Samuel,
The problem is nobody is trading a legitimate center (especially if that center is better than horford, or almost as good as horford). So its very difficult for the hawks to get one.
Howard, bogut, Lopez, Noah, perkins, bynum are not going anywhere, and the hawks pick low in the draft, and we don’t have the money to sign one.
And the fact is horford is one of the best centers in the league, so him and Josh will just have to be tougher, rebound better and defend the post better.
JoJo the Godfather
October 5th, 2010
10:49 am
I don’t see us trading for a legitimate center either…I would however like to see us at least try to develop a young center…Za Za “is what he is” and can only improve through effort…Trading for a young unproven center like Ajinca in Dallas might be a waste of money & picks, but it would probably go a long way with the fans…For a team that needs a 1 & 5, trying to develop Sy & Ajinca through practice & d-league games at least gives the preception that an effort is being made.
Fresh
October 5th, 2010
12:17 pm
Melvin,
Thanks for the link. I think those preseason power rankings are pretty much spot on!
Fresh
October 5th, 2010
12:21 pm
Good article about the Jamal Crawford situation on SI.com.
Crawford:
“I love being here. I LOVE being here. I had a ball every time. I felt like I was at a concert performing every time I played here. It was just a lot of fun.”
Sund:
“The organization the last few years has done an outstanding job to retain players who have become free agents, and a lot of that is because the players have wanted to remain here and we’ve been financially competitive with the other teams,” Sund said.
Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/basketball/nba/10/04/hawks.crawford.ap/index.html#ixzz11VBfOhYT
Hmmm
October 5th, 2010
1:10 pm
LOL @ Suns fans trying to work us over and steal all of our good players. Rondo, Lopez(Picks), Diaw, Childress, and now Josh smith! Ha. All we’ve ever gotten from them is a 2nd rd. Pick. smh
http://www.brightsideofthesun.com/2010/7/17/1574392/lets-make-a-dream-err-deal-josh
It’s fun hearing them speculate about our team though. Nice to hear other teams opinions.
Hmmm
October 5th, 2010
1:37 pm
LOL They’re at it again.
http://www.brightsideofthesun.com/2010/8/25/1649527/josh-smith
They really like J-Smoove hahaha.
dap01
October 5th, 2010
1:39 pm
It is so wonderful to have a coach that can actually pretend to have a clue about professional basketball players. Drew has a plan, it may be difficult to get results but at least his knows more than ISO, Switching and demeaning players.
SteveW
October 5th, 2010
1:50 pm
JoJo – It was reported that in our war room on draft day, we really like Daniel Orton of Kentucky. He went 29th to the Magic. It would have been interesting to see if we would have still sold our 31st pick if he would have still been on the board. We can say we would have all day long, but we still don’t know. He would have been a good kid to develop. Like these 2 young C’s for the Sixers, Javale from the Wizards also – don’t know if we could pry any of them away. Ajinca may be a dud – but you might be correct about the fan base. I know I enjoyed Solomon Jones, just because he was “developing”, young, athletic and exciting. I guess it goes back to hope springs eternal or something.
And RandMo’s stats from last year were ok for the limited minutes, if you factor them out – but his Summer League was awful. Maybe he already thought he had a spot on the team or something, but he looked really bad.
doc
October 5th, 2010
1:57 pm
hmm, that guy is so trade happy you got to wonder if it is grand dad in disguise.
doc
October 5th, 2010
2:00 pm
only legit center moved this year was jefferson. i asked early on, the day after elimination, would anyone give up jsh to get him. there were few if any takers. you dont get without giving up in this league unless you are accepting payroll. as all are aware that is not modis operandi around here. so give up on the bs of getting a center by trade.
drmaryb (*_*)
October 5th, 2010
6:41 pm
Back that Thang Up!
Sautee … He got my back –
Like a Bobby Knight tight red sweater!
Now You Know!
See Samuel ….
-smiles-
drmaryb (*_*)
October 5th, 2010
6:52 pm
……………….. Waiting in Anticipation …………..
What else is there to say?
The Truth
October 6th, 2010
5:54 pm
http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/2010/10/dwight-howard-seeks-to-expand-his-post-game-learns-from-the-best.php?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter
The Truth
October 6th, 2010
7:14 pm
Comparison and Contrast:
While Al Horford was busy filling up his summer with the NBA without Borders, going to Singapore, and also doing his (noteworthy) All-Star Basketball Camp here in Atlanta, his nemesis Dwight Howard was being trained by the HOF Great-Center Hakeem Olajuwon. So, as Al’s maturation continues with the Hawks, so does Howard’s with the Magic.
Sh4d0w5
October 7th, 2010
6:28 am
Nice blog!
Get the best gift ideas right here!