Charlotte Hornets: Why an Al Horford trade makes perfect sense

Horford’s fit on most teams is pretty seamless, especially when he plays center. He is a smart passer, a smart defender, and a solid shooter from outside. Celtics coach Brad Stevens marveled at Horford’s basketball IQ and team-first mentality last year, saying:

"“He doesn’t take bad shots, so the shots that he takes, he’s got a great chance of making, because he puts in all the work, and he knows where to shoot and he knows when to shoot. “He knows when he’s being guarded tight and it’s going to be a contested shot versus and uncontested shot. He’s at the stage of his career where he knows where it’s coming, he knows how to read it, and then he just makes the right play.”"

This sounds like an ideal fit on a young, inexperienced Charlotte Hornets team, and a nice change in pace from Bismack Biyombo. With all due to respect to Biz(and he improved MAJORLY last season), he is not the best fit on the Hornets due to his limitations on the offensive end, and his subpar defensive positioning.

Apart from the veteran presence he offers, Horford’s ability to space the floor, especially out of the pick and pop, shapes to complement the Hornets roster extremely well.

Back in 2013, the Teague Horford pick and pop was one of the most unstoppable plays out of Budenholzer’s Atlanta Hawks playbook; this action capitalized on Teague’s ability to put pressure on the rim, opening up wide-open jump shots for Horford.

However, even 6 years later with the Boston Celtics, Horford was as deadly as always from the midrange. In the 2018/19 season, from 8-16 feet, Horford made 55% of his shots, highest in the league Among the players who have taken at least 100 shots between 8-16 feet this season. , Between 15-19 feet and Horford’s 55.9 percent success rate was superior to every player in the league outside of Kevin Durant.

Horford’s presence notably stands to help out two key pieces on the Hornets: Malik Monk and Cody Martin. Both of these guys were rarely used as ballhandlers last season, but both are adept at getting downhill and passing. I’ve talked about Malik’s ability to pressure the rim and pass before, but Cody Martin’s ability to put pressure on the rim was shown all season.

Cody Martin is also a good passer going downhill, so increased spacing from Horford’s presence encouraging Martin to drive and kick more can only be a good thing for the Hornets; and it seems Borrego seems to agree with that notion.

The extra Horford spacing will also prevent these kind of hook/floater in between shots by Cody Martin.

Heck, we already have a vision of how Horford’s ability to space the floor could help, as Billy Hernangomez’ little floater game helped the Hornets offense this past season.

With Horford’s ability to stretch the floor out even further, it’s not just Malik Monk and Cody Martin who will benefit. Caleb Martin, Miles Bridges, PJ Washington…all of these guys will benefit as PnR ballhandlers from having that extra space to get downhill and attack the basket.

Horford is also a great fit with the 3 realistic targets for the Hornets’ pick #3. He benefits Anthony Edwards by spacing the floor, much like he helps Cody Martin and Malik Monk. Next to Ball, he provides a steady veteran presence on defense to help the raw, and erratic Ball whose defensive positioning and technique need improvement.

He also provides that pick and pop option off the pick and roll when teams predictably go under ball screens and play drop coverage against LaMelo. Finally, he’s one of the better mentors for James Wiseman because of his basketball IQ, an area the young 7 footer struggles with.

Defensively Horford is a reliable guy. He’s not going to switch onto guards, not anymore, and he’s not going to block exorbitant numbers of shots at the rim. He will constantly be in the right position like Cody Zeller does, and he will help our young players develop their defensive awareness.

Overall, Horford is a fantastic fit on the Charlotte Hornets roster. He aids player development, he’ll help the culture and locker-room with his experience, and who knows…he may have enough juice left in the tank to help the Hornets make the playoffs.