Deep into the dog days of the 2022 NBA offseason, there is little in the way of current Boston Celtics news to speak of, but plenty of excitement about the 2022-23 season now less than two months away from kicking off for teams around the league. .
And as we so often do at this part of the league calendar, busting out a magnifying glass to take a long, hard look at players and the teams they play for makes up the bulk of NBA content at the moment. Among the best examples we have seen are being done over at our sister site HoopsHype, where the staff has been ranking players by their trade value at their position.
There have been several Celtics ranked by HH analysts at the point guard, shooting guard, and small forward positions. But, none registered at power forward due to positional estimates instead of placing two Boston starters at the center position, so today we will look at the lower-ranked of the two.
Al Horford – center – No. 19
The Boston big man in truth played more at the 4 last season than as a center depending on how you define the position, but we won’t quibble as long as Horford gets the respect he deserves.
“Horford had a renaissance last season reminding fans why teams continue to rely on him in high leverage situations,” writes HH. “If he were to become available, there should be plenty of teams interested in the 36-year-old big man.”
And for good reason, given the impact his play had on the Celtics’ finals run last season and the fact that while his age may not be young and his contract substantial, so is his impact on the court and the deal is also expiring.
Listed just ahead of the Orlando Magic’s Jonathan Isaac, and just below Christian Wood of the Dallas Mavericks, we’d probably have Horford at least one slot higher, if not two or even three.
But even that notwithstanding, the Florida product is getting the recognition he deserves — and not just because of his age.
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