As the Oklahoma City Thunder attract younger players in the night rotation, Al-Horford, the five-time All-Star center, will no longer be active for games this season, sources told ESPN.
Horford, 34, plans to stay with his Oklahoma City teammates and train at the team’s facilities, but will not play in the last 28 games for the Thunder, sources said.
Since arriving from the Philadelphia 76ers on a transactional project, Horford has been considered a significant presence and influence on Thunder’s young and rebuilding list, and the organization has been eager for Horford to stay with them while the two parties were working on this decision. said.
After the season, Horford will have two more years and $ 53 million under contract. Thunder CEO Sam Presti has vowed to work with Horford and his agent, Jason Glushon, to find a job at the center with a team better suited to this later stage of his career.
The inability to participate protects Horford from injuries that could complicate his off-season movement. Horford have averaged 14.2 points, 6.7 rebounds and 3.4 assists this season. After joining the 76-year-old with a four-year, $ 109 million free agent contract in 2019, Horford was traded to the Thunder on the night of the 2020 draft in Oklahoma City.
Thunder recently lost star guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for a long time with plantar fasciitis. It was inevitable that Horford would finally end this season, but the loss of Gilgeous-Alexander accelerated this timeline, sources said.
Thunder could have three first-round picks in the 2021 NBA Draft, based on a series of election protection and change scenarios. Thunder was surprisingly competitive with such a young and incomplete roster, currently tied with the New Orleans Pelicans at 19-25.
Oklahoma City has 17 first-round picks and 17 second-round picks under control in the 2027 NBA Draft.
This is Horford’s fourteenth NBA season, which includes stops in Atlanta, Boston and Philadelphia. He earned an average of 13.9 points, 8.2 rebounds and 3.3 assists in his career and was twice an option for the All-Defensive team.