Al Horford Says Rockets Were His Second Choice

Celtics star Al Horford thought hard about joining the Rockets this summer before opting to go to Boston, relays A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE. Horford listed his finalists as Boston, Houston and Washington, in that order, if he decided to leave Atlanta.

“[Houston] and Boston were probably the two teams I was really, really looking at,” he said before today’s game in Houston. “Just a lot to consider. … “At the end of the day, I just felt I was better off being here in Boston.”

The Celtics haven’t been disappointed after giving Horford a four-year, $113MM deal. He has displayed the versatility that made him a two-time All-Star with the Hawks, averaging 14.9 points, 6.5 rebounds and 4.6 assists through 20 games.

James Harden was part of the recruiting team that nearly convinced Horford to sign with the Rockets.

“I thought we had a chance,” Harden said. “I thought we had a real good chance, but obviously it didn’t work out. Which is fine.”

After Horford turned them down, the Rockets used their cap space to sign Ryan Anderson and Eric Gordon and are off to a 14-7 start.

Someone who didn’t take the news quite as well as Harden was Horford’s father Tito, a former NBA player who went to high school in Houston, tweets ESPN’s Calvin Watkins. Al Horford said his father was “heartbroken” by the decision, but has since gotten over it.

View Comments (2)