Al Horford Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Warriors Notes: Horford, Green, Curry, Richard, A. Davis

December 6th, 2025 at 5:18pm CST by Arthur Hill

Al Horford was excited about the opportunity to join the Warriors, but his first few weeks with the team haven’t worked out as planned. The veteran center has only been available for 13 of Golden State’s first 23 games and is averaging 5.6 points and 4.4 rebounds in 21.5 minutes per night. He admits to Nick Friedell of The Athletic that he’s disappointed with his performance so far.

“I’m not where I want to be,” Horford said. “I would say I haven’t been very good. I understand that there’s a lot of work ahead of me, there’s more that I need to do, and I need to be better, and I feel like I will. But right now, I’m not where I want to be.”

Injuries have played a part in Horford’s early-season frustrations, as he just returned Thursday after missing about two weeks with sciatica. Golden State isn’t using him in both ends of back-to-backs, just like Boston’s policy over the past two years, to avoid putting too much strain on his body during the long season. After playing 18 minutes on Thursday at Philadelphia, Horford said he believes he’s making progress physically.

“I felt pretty good tonight,” he said. “Obviously, not playing or anything, that’s always challenging, so trying to get my legs back under me, but it’s just nice to get back on the floor. Things didn’t go our way tonight, the game didn’t go our way, I’m still trying to find myself as well, but I was encouraged with some of the things tonight.”

There’s more on the Warriors:

Horford will miss Saturday’s game at Cleveland as part of a lengthy injured list that also includes Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler, Draymond Green, Seth Curry and De’Anthony Melton, according to Anthony Slater of The Athletic (Twitter link). He adds that there’s optimism about Green, who injured his right foot during Thursday’s game and left the arena in a walking boot. Slater states that Green was able to do some shooting on his own after this morning’s shootaround (Twitter link).
Coach Steve Kerr said Stephen Curry is making progress in his recovery from a thigh contusion and “it’s realistic” that he could return Friday against Minnesota (Twitter link).
At 22, Will Richard was viewed as old for a prospect heading into this year’s draft, but he believes he benefited from playing four seasons in college, writes Kenzo Fukuda of ClutchPoints. Richard has been a surprise contributor for Golden State after being selected with the 56th pick. “I feel like those four years at Florida helped me out with my experience,” he said. “I feel like it helped me adjust much quicker than if I were an 18-year-old freshman or something like that. So no knock to the guys that get drafted who are younger than me. … I know my journey is different from everyone else, so I’m happy how it went.”
Rumors that the Warriors are among the teams pursuing Mavericks big man Anthony Davis are untrue, according to Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints, who tweets that Golden State hasn’t contacted Dallas about a potential deal and doesn’t plan to during the season.

Warriors Notes: Butler, Melton, Horford, Draymond, Spencer

December 4th, 2025 at 11:19pm CST by Rory Maher

Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said prior to Thursday’s game in Philadelphia that Jimmy Butler underwent an MRI on his sore left knee, according Nick Friedell of The Athletic.

As Friedell writes, while the team doesn’t seem overly concerned about Butler’s knee, it remains to be seen when the 36-year-old forward will return to action — he missed the second half of Tuesday’s loss to Okalahoma City after experiencing the injury and was out Thursday as well.

Golden State has a road back-to-back this weekend, but then has four days off before its next game on December 12, which will likely be Stephen Curry‘s target return date.

Here’s more on the Warriors:

De’Anthony Melton gave the Warriors a spark off the bench on Thurday in his season debut, recording 14 points, three assists, two steals and a block in 21 minutes of action. Kerr said before the game that Melton, who had been recovering from an ACL tear, would be on a restriction of approximately 20 minutes, per Friedell. “It’s been a long time since he’s played in an NBA game, so this is about getting his feet wet, finding a comfort zone out on the floor,” Kerr said. “You can scrimmage all you want, but it’s not like being in an NBA game. So I’m excited to get him back. He’s a hell of a player and he’s worked really hard in his rehab to get himself back to this point.”
After missing the past four games with sciatica, Al Horford was active against his former team on Thursday and wound up making his first start of the season, tweets Anthony Slater of ESPN. While the 39-year-old big man struggled with his shot again, going 1-for-8 from the field (1-of-7 from long distance), he did chip in six rebounds, four assists, one steal and one block, and the team was plus-three in his 18 minutes.
Forward/center Draymond Green injured his right foot late in the second quarter during Thursday’s one-point loss after Dominick Barlow fell on it (Twitter video link via NBC Sports Bay Area). The Warriors quickly ruled Green out at halftime, and while the former Defensive Player of the Year was in a walking boot in the locker room, he told Slater that he wants and expects to keep playing through the pain. Green sprained the same foot a couple weeks ago when Donovan Clingan landed on it, Slater notes.
Golden State is now below .500 for the first time this season after dropping Thursday’s game, Slater adds. The Warriors, who are 11-12, mounted a furious comeback in the fourth quarter after trailing by as many as 26, only to see the bid fall short in the closing seconds of a chaotic and entertaining ending.
One bright spot on Thursday was third-year guard Pat Spencer, who is on a two-way contract. He was instrumental in the comeback, recording 16 points (on 5-of-8 shooting), four rebounds and four assists, with the Warriors outscoring the 76ers by 16 points in his 24 minutes. After the game, Kerr said he’s hoping to see Spencer get promoted to a standard contract at some point — the 29-year-old has been active for all 23 games this season and can be available for up to 50 contests, as Slater relays (Twitter video link). “It would be great to find a way to get him on the (standard) roster,” Kerr said. Still, Kerr acknowledged it would be “tricky” to convert Spencer — the standard roster is now full after Golden State signed Seth Curry, and the team is operating only about $264K below its hard cap.

Warriors Notes: Kuminga, Green, Butler

November 25th, 2025 at 8:40pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga will miss his seventh consecutive game on Wednesday against the Rockets due to knee tendinitis. He told ESPN’s Anthony Slater he’ll be back in action “soon” (Twitter link).

Kuminga participated in some 3-on-3 scrimmages during Tuesday’s practice and will scrimmage on Wednesday as well. Warriors beat writer Monte Poole tweets.

Kuminga had played well prior to the injury, averaging 13.8 points, 6.6 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game. Al Horford also won’t play on Wednesday due to a nerve issue.

We have more on the Warriors:

Draymond Green has been upgraded to probable for Wednesday’s game, Slater tweets. Green sat out Monday’s 17-point win over the Jazz due to a foot sprain. Green holds a $27.7MM player option next offseason on the final year of his contract.
Jimmy Butler had a highly efficient outing against Utah. He was a plus-19 in 28 minutes, scoring 18 points on 8-of-11 shooting with six rebounds and seven assists, Dalton Johnson of NBC Sports Bay Area notes. Meanwhile, Lauri Markkanen — one of the players the Warriors coveted prior to last season before trading for Butler last winter — scored just 17 points on 31.6% shooting with smaller players guarding him. The game provided a reminder of why the Warriors have no regrets about taking their big trade-market swing on Butler, Johnson writes.
In case you missed it, the Warriors now have enough room below their hard cap to sign a 15th man. However, every day they put off doing so creates a little more flexibility below that threshold.

Al Horford Out At Least A Week With Sciatic Injury

November 23rd, 2025 at 7:00pm CST by Eli Cohen

Al Horford will miss at least a week for the Warriors with sciatica, per Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area (via Twitter).

The injury is being classified as right sciatic nerve irritation, according to Anthony Slater of ESPN (Twitter link), who notes that Horford will be out for at least three games: Monday vs. Utah, Wednesday vs. Houston, and Saturday vs. New Orleans.

Horford is currently averaging the fewest minutes, points, rebounds, and assists per game of his career, as well as his lowest three-point percentage in 11 seasons, as he adjusts to coming off the bench for Golden State.

Sciatica is the same type of medical issue that kept LeBron James sidelined for the Lakers’ first 14 games, though the wording on Horford seems to suggest that his ailment is less severe than James’ was.

The Warriors have cooled off since their 4-1 start to the season and are now 9-9 after losing their last three games. Horford’s injury will provide yet another test for Golden State’s frontcourt depth, as Jonathan Kuminga remains out with knee tendonitis and Draymond Green is listed as questionable for Monday’s game with a foot sprain.

Pacific Notes: LeBron, Curry, Warriors, Sabonis, Livers

November 19th, 2025 at 1:50pm CST by Luke Adams

Lakers forward LeBron James only took seven shots from the floor in his season debut on Tuesday vs. Utah, but he racked up 12 assists in a 140-126 victory and extended his NBA-record streak of double-digit scoring performances to 1,293 consecutive games, writes ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. Most importantly, James played 30 minutes after missing the first month of the season due to sciatica and didn’t experience any setbacks.

“The pace tested me, but I was happy with the way I was able to go with the guys,” James said. “As the game went on, my wind got a lot better. Caught my second wind, caught my third wind. Rhythm is still coming back, obviously. First game in almost seven months, so everything that happened tonight was to be expected.”

For a separate ESPN story, McMenamin spoke to 10 sources inside and outside of the Lakers’ organization to get a sense of what they’re monitoring with James back on the floor, including how the return of the four-time MVP will impact the team’s role players and whether the high-scoring duo of Luka Doncic (34.6 PPG) and Austin Reaves (28.1 PPG) will keep rolling. Not all of those sources were in agreement on certain topics, including Deandre Ayton‘s fit alongside James, McMenamin notes.

“Ayton should benefit the most out of LeBron back,” an Eastern Conference executive said. “LeBron makes people look good. [He’ll feed Ayton] lobs and dump-offs at the rim.”

“I imagine Deandre’s going to be a problem. He’s just not smart enough of a player,” a Western Conference exec countered. “And the inconsistent effort, LeBron usually has issues with, to say the least.”

Here’s more from around the Pacific Division:

Stephen Curry (right ankle soreness) will sit out the Warriors‘ game vs. Miami on Wednesday after tweaking his ankle a couple times during the team’s recent road trip, tweets Anthony Slater of ESPN. Golden State could end up very shorthanded on the second night of a back-to-back — Al Horford (left toe injury management) and Jonathan Kuminga (bilateral patellar tendonitis) are both out, while Jimmy Butler (right low back strain), Draymond Green (illness), and Buddy Hield (illness) are all considered questionable to play.
The Kings will be without center Domantas Sabonis on Wednesday vs. Oklahoma City due to left knee soreness, tweets Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee. It will be the fourth missed game of the season for Sabonis, who has also dealt with hamstring and rib injuries.
Back in the NBA this fall after a lengthy absence due to hip problems, forward Isaiah Livers is grateful to be playing a role for the Suns and isn’t concerned about keeping track of his active games, tweets Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. A player on a two-way contract can be on his team’s active roster for a maximum of 50 games — Livers is at 11 so far. “I’m not counting,” Livers said. “I’m taking it one day at a time. We all know my story. I’m just blessed and grateful to put a uniform back on and help an organization win games. We’ll worry about the rest later.”

Pacific Notes: Ellis, Leonard, Curry, Warriors

November 8th, 2025 at 11:04pm CST by Arthur Hill

Keon Ellis is trying to be philosophical about his reduced role in the Kings‘ rotation, writes Chris Biderman of The Sacramento Bee. Ellis logged just 12 minutes of action in Friday’s loss to Oklahoma City — all in the fourth quarter of a blowout — continuing a trend that has seen him reach 20 minutes in just three of the team’s first nine games.

Biderman notes that Ellis had reason to expect a more prominent position after finishing second on the team in three-point percentage last season at 43% and ranking second in the league with 280 deflections. Ellis provides a level of perimeter defense that the team has been lacking while ranking 25th in defensive efficiency, 28th in deflections and 28th in contested shots coming into Friday’s game.

“Because I know if I go out there, I do what I do,” Ellis responded when asked about his playing time. “If I don’t go out there, it is what it is. I control what I can control.”

The Kings added Dennis Schröder and Russell Westbrook to their backcourt during the offseason, and they’re both playing ahead of Ellis. Westbrook has been putting up vintage numbers lately, including 24 points, nine assists and six rebounds Friday night after posting a triple-double on Wednesday, but Schröder hasn’t been as effective. The Kings have been outscored by 85 points in the 287 minutes he has played and they have a minus-9.9 net rating when he’s on the court. Biderman states.

“It’s a numbers game,” coach Doug Christie said. “There’s a big logjam there. Night to night, it could be different. It’s not going to be any easier once you get Keegan (Murray) back. But this is a good problem to have. It’s one that hasn’t been here for a long time when you talk about wing players and the ability to have them. Keon’s a pro so I know he’ll be ready and prepared.”

There’s more from the Pacific Division:

Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said Kawhi Leonard will miss “the next few games” with a sprained right ankle, according to The Associated Press. Lue didn’t provide any specifics about Leonard’s condition, but he stated that medical tests are indicating it won’t be a prolonged absence.
After missing two games with an illness, Warriors star Stephen Curry is listed as questionable for Sunday’s meeting with Indiana, per Sam Gordon of The San Francisco Chronicle. Curry started feeling fatigued in the second half of Tuesday’s contest and didn’t travel with the team on its two-game trip to Sacramento and Denver. Al Horford is also questionable after being scratched from Friday’s game due to a left foot strain.
Draymond Green was critical of the Warriors‘ defense, and coach Steve Kerr lamented “a lack of purpose and energy” following Friday’s loss at Denver, relays Nick Friedell of The Athletic. Golden State fell behind early and wasn’t able to fight back in a 129-104 defeat. “There has to be some fire in the belly to get out of a tough night,” Kerr said. “It’s tough as a young player when things aren’t going their way, the game’s not going their way, it’s easy to get down. You can’t do that in this league. You have to fight and compete every second, and it didn’t feel like we did that tonight.”

Warriors Notes: Curry, Butler, Kerr, Jackson-Davis, Post

November 2nd, 2025 at 11:28am CST by Rory Maher

The Warriors had a double-digit lead in the fourth quarter of Saturday’s game at Indiana, only to let it slip away, eventually falling to an injury-ravaged Pacers team that picked up its first win of the season. With six minutes left, Golden State was up 104-93; the team only scored five points the rest of the game while giving up 21.

Two-time MVP Stephen Curry placed the blame on himself for the loss, according to Anthony Slater of ESPN (Twitter video link). The star guard had 24 points in 29 minutes, but shot just 8-of-23 from the field, had five turnovers and only two assists (zero rebounds), and was a game-worst minus-21.

“This is one of those look in the mirror (type games),” said Curry. “There are parts of the game where I made it too hard on all of us, with not getting getting organized, bad possessions, a little lack of energy.”

After a 4-1 start, the Warriors have dropped two straight games (the first was a loss to the Bucks playing without Giannis Antetokounmpo). Jimmy Butler expressed confidence in the team’s ability to bounce back, as Slater relays.

“We haven’t lost any momentum, we just haven’t been playing our best version of basketball,” said Butler, who recorded 20 points, seven assists, six rebounds, three steals and two blocks on Saturday. “It’s easy to get back to that — taking care of the ball, not fouling, rebounding, sharing, making shots. That’s easy. Like you said, it’s only seven games. Everybody’s still on this bus and doing what we’re supposed to be doing together.”

Here’s more on the Warriors:

Head coach Steve Kerr was frustrated after Saturday’s loss, per Slater (Twitter video link). “It feels like we just gave away two games,” Kerr said. “ … We have to find a way to be sharper. There’s always tough nights during the season. This should not have been one of them. We had the day off yesterday. We didn’t shoot around today. We had plenty of rest. But execution down the stretch was awful. And it’s a shame because our young guys played their asses off to get us the 11-point lead. Gui (Santos), Moses (Moody), (Brandin Podziemski), those guys were fantastic.”
As Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star writes (subscriber link), Trayce Jackson-Davis has been out of Golden State’s rotation to open the season, but the third-year center says he’ll be ready to produce when called upon. “It’s not necessarily that I need to show anything,” Jackson-Davis said Saturday morning at an optional shootaround. “But I need to go in and play with high energy. Rebound at a high level and run the floor. Do things of that nature. I think that’s what I bring to our team. We have a lot of older guys on our team, there will be guys who sit out back-to-backs, so when I get a chance I have to do those things and build on it from there.”
In an interview with Mark Medina of EssentiallySports, Dutch big man Quinten Post discusses his offseason, his expectations for his second season, learning from Al Horford, and more.

Injury Notes: Sabonis, Porzingis, Nembhard, Moody, M. Wagner

October 24th, 2025 at 4:08pm CST by Rory Maher

Kings star Domantas Sabonis will make his season debut in Friday’s home opener against Utah, as James Ham of TheKingsBeat.com relays (via Twitter).

Sabonis sustained a right hamstring injury during a preseason contest on October 15. Sacramento subsequently referred to the ailment as a Grade 1 strain and said he’d be reevaluated in a week, with an expectation that he’d be out for the first two games of the season — instead he’ll only miss one.

The 29-year-old center was spotted shooting at Thursday’s practice and was initially listed as questionable for Friday’s matchup with the Jazz before being upgraded to available.

Here are a few more injury-related notes from around the NBA:

Veteran big man Kristaps Porzingis will miss his first regular season game with the Hawks on Friday due to flu-like symptoms, tweets Brad Rowland of Locked On Hawks. A league source tells Lauren L. Williams of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that Porzingis participated in the Hawks’ shootaround on Friday morning but started feeling ill in the afternoon (Twitter link). Atlanta plays at Orlando. Porzingis, who was acquired from Boston in an offseason trade, recorded 20 points, seven rebounds and two blocks in Wednesday’s disappointing blowout loss to Toronto.
After exiting Thursday’s opener against Oklahoma City with left shoulder soreness, Pacers guard Andrew Nembhard will undergo additional testing to determine the severity of the injury, head coach Rick Carlisle said after the thrilling double-overtime loss (Twitter link via Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files). “We’ll find out more (Friday). He’s going to get some tests done. But this is going to potentially present some big challenges.” As we noted last night, Indiana’s point guard depth is very shaky at the moment due to several injuries.
Warriors wing Moses Moody suffered a left calf injury during a practice a couple weeks ago, causing him to miss Golden State’s final three preseason games as well the first two games of the regular season. But he’ll be back for Friday’s matchup in Portland, which is the second of a back-to-back, according to Anthony Slater of ESPN (Twitter link). Al Horford will be out with left toe injury management, Slater adds, which was expected.
Magic head coach Jamahl Mosley provided a minor injury update on forward/center Moritz Wagner on Friday, writes Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel. Wagner is recovering from a torn ACL he sustained last December. “Moe right now is just still doing the non-contact work, continuing to strengthen his body,” Mosley said. “But his spirits are still great. You can see him on the bench throughout our games continuing to coach, using his voice, using his encouragement. But body-wise, it’s just still continuing with the non-contact work.”

Warriors Notes: Horford, Kornet, Green, Markkanen, Lineups

October 24th, 2025 at 3:00pm CST by Luke Adams

The fact that Al Horford accepted a two-year, $11.7MM deal this summer to join the Warriors inspired some jealousy among multiple teams that had hoped to land the veteran center themselves, according to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst.

“Horford was one of the best signings in the league over the summer, it broke our hearts because we wanted him badly,” an Eastern Conference executive told ESPN. “And they got him for $5 million.”

As Anthony Slater of ESPN reports, team sources say that Horford was Golden State’s “absolute 1A” target during the offseason. The team also had interest in Luke Kornet, but he signed a lucrative contract with San Antonio that was out of the Warriors’ price range, so the team was thrilled that the taxpayer mid-level exception was sufficient to land Horford.

“(General manager) Mike (Dunleavy Jr.)’s been looking for a player like him his entire time here,” head coach Steve Kerr said. “Not just a pick-and-pop guy, but a legitimate big, who can make Draymond (Green)‘s job easier, who can make Steph (Curry)‘s job easier. It’s really hard to find those guys.”

Horford is expected to be inactive on Friday on the second end of a back-to-back as part of a plan to limit his workload in his age-39 season, Windhorst notes.

We have more on the Warriors:

Within an in-depth story about Horford’s arrival and the Warriors’ approach to roster-building, Slater points out that the organization continues to balance a long-term view with a win-now philosophy, as its decision to re-sign Jonathan Kuminga instead of signing-and-trading him showed. “That’s one of the beautiful things about having this organization,” Green said. “We’re not sitting here like, ‘Yo, give away everything because we don’t give a f–k about what this thing looks like in 10 years.’ We do. And so I think it’s only fair to Mike that he’s given a future, too. It’s important to do it the way that we’ve done it. We found a good balance to where we can compete and possibly win now and yet still have that flexibility and resources for the future.”
As Slater details, that resistance to going all-in was on display last year when Green discouraged the Warriors from giving up a massive package of young players and draft picks in a trade for Jazz star Lauri Markkanen. “I’m a big fan of [Markkanen’s] game,” Green said. “But I think if you want to do something so huge you better be certain that this is THE move. You usually don’t win those things against (Jazz CEO) Danny Ainge. I look at history.”
Assistant coaches Terry Stotts and Chris DeMarco convinced Kerr to use a bigger lineup of Curry, Green, Horford, Kuminga, and Jimmy Butler down the stretch on Thursday vs. Denver, according to Slater. The group helped erase a fourth-quarter deficit and secure the victory in overtime, posting a +47.1 net rating in eight minutes on the floor together. “Where we going to score?” Kerr said. “That was my biggest concern. Could we execute [offensively]? But [Stotts and DeMarco] reminded me we have Steph and Jimmy, and they’ll find a way to score. … It was really fun to watch a group that’s never played together close a game against one of the best teams in the league.”

Al Horford Explains Celtics Exit, Hopes To Retire With Warriors

October 14th, 2025 at 11:45am CST by Luke Adams

After returning to the Celtics for a second stint in 2021, Al Horford seemed like he was on track to spend the rest of his NBA playing career in Boston. However, at age 39, the veteran big man decided this summer to leave the Celtics because “they just weren’t in a position to offer me the opportunity that I wanted,” he explained to Nick Friedell of The Athletic.

After winning a title in 2023/24 and racking up 61 more regular season wins in ’24/25, the Celtics are expected to take step backward in ’25/26 as a result of Jayson Tatum‘s postseason Achilles tear, as well as financially motivated offseason trades involving Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday. Due to its desire to shed salary, the club also wasn’t in position to offer free agents like Luke Kornet and Horford the kind of contracts they’d earned.

“There was two things there,” Horford said. “I think the financial part was a component, but more than that, it was the winning part of it, trying to contend for a championship. And I think there was a lot of things up in the air — and it just felt like they weren’t in the same, that same vision, obviously, because JT getting hurt, that takes a big toll. So I think at that point I really had to — up until then I was staying in Boston the whole time.

“… I think once that offseason happened and it started to progress, it became clear to me the team had different priorities. Obviously, getting rid of Jrue, getting rid of Kristaps. And I know it’s all salary stuff, but it was like a domino effect, and it was tough for me. It was a tough decision, but my wife and I, we prayed about it. I knew that it had to be something that was gonna be — that my family had to be on board with me for us to proceed in something like this. And that was it.”

Horford ended up signing with the Warriors on a two-year contract worth the full taxpayer mid-level exception that includes a second-year player option and a 15% trade kicker.

While the deal didn’t officially get done until October 1 due to Golden State’s desire to resolve Jonathan Kuminga‘s restricted free agency before hard-capping itself at the second tax apron, Horford knew much earlier in the summer that he’d become a Warrior. He tells Friedell that recruiting pitches from Stephen Curry and Draymond Green played a role in his decision.

“Yeah, I had communication with them, with Steph and Draymond,” Horford said. “And that was important. It happened very fast because it was at a point where they came to me and they’re like, ‘Hey, we’d love to have you,’ and all these things. And it was one of these things that, for me, looking at this fit and the potential, it just felt right. So them reaching out to me was important.”

Given the fact that his new contract includes a second year, Horford may still have multiple seasons left in the NBA. Still, his hope for now is that he’s able to finish his career in Golden State.

“I think at this point in my career, where I see everything, that is my expectation, just to be here,” he said.