The New York Knicks need a third big man to complement Karl-Anthony Towns and Mitchell Robinson—someone who can play alongside or independent of them. They can’t do any better than signing unrestricted free agent Al Horford. But this assumes the 39-year-old is actually available. He may not be.
Trading Kristaps Porzingis to the Atlanta Hawks has left the Boston Celtics with a gigantic hole in the middle. With both Horford and Luke Kornet entering free agency, Xavier Tillman is the only big man under guaranteed contract for next season.
If you are Boston, this is…not ideal. Even as the Celtics pivot into a gap year while Jayson Tatum recovers from a devastating Achilles injury, they don’t seem on track to completely bottom out. So long as that’s the case, they will need at least one player who can competently soak up center minutes.
Al Horford is completely out of the Knicks’ reach…yet
This is not to say the Knicks should entirely remove Horford from their free-agency big board. Though his affinity for Beantown is well-known, he could prefer to play for an actual contender. The Celtics cannot guarantee him that opportunity in 2025-26, or even necessarily in 2026-27, which will presumably be Tatum’s first year back.
Boston also still has some cost-cutting left to do. After shedding hundreds of millions of dollars in salary and luxury-tax payments, it currently sits around $4.5 million beneath the second apron.
Re-signing Horford will cost more than that unless he’s taking a massive discount. And we know the Celtics won’t be re-entering the second apron without a healthy Tatum. Some even believe they will wind up trying to altogether duck the tax. Either way, they must lop off more salary before guaranteeing Horford’s return.
Even then, Boston may prefer to go in a different direction. Luke Kornet is younger, and could remain cheaper. The Celtics may opt to use him as a stopgap, while bringing in other bargain-bin fliers and prospects to develop for the next phase of their competitive life cycle—one that an almost 40-year-old Horford will not be part of.
The Knicks must make a specific sales pitch to the Celtics big man
This latest development will not come as the most massive blow to New York. Whisking Horford out of Boston was always a long shot. The Knicks’ best offer tops out at the mini mid-level exception, which is worth just $5.7 million.
Still, all hope is not lost. Not yet, anyway.
In addition to offering a shot at continued title contention, New York can also use its greatest weakness to its advantage. A general lack of depth allows the Leon Rose-led front office to promise fairly prominent roles to any free agent they target. That includes Horford.
Yes, the Knicks already have two high-profile centers on the roster. But the next head coach will almost assuredly lean into double-big looks. That requires a third body capable of logging real minutes. Mitchell Robinson also isn’t the most durable or highest-volume center to begin with, and there’s a chance New York looks at trading him as an expiring contract.
Any way you cut it, the Knicks need somebody like Horford—a big who preserves their spacing and beefs up their defense. They can even go as far as guaranteeing him a starting spot, alongside KAT. That is the luxury of their otherwise inflexible situation.
Is that enough, financially and functionally, for Horford to leave Boston for New York? Especially with Porzingis gone? We’ll find out soon enough.