The Warriors’ Al Horford problem requires a trade to be resolved
The The Golden State Warriors won off to a tepid start to the 2025-26 NBA season, currently at 9-7 after Tuesday night’s road trip loss to the Orlando Magic. While Stephen Curry and Jimmy Butler have been playing good basketball lately, the Warriors are looking for a lot more from their late offseason signing Al Horford.
Horford had hopeless beginning through his tenure in the Bay Area, he averaged 5.7 points on just 33.8 percent shooting from the field and 31.9 percent from beyond the arc, both steep declines from what we saw from him recently with the Boston Celtics.
Entering this season, many expected Horford to be one of the best big men of the Warriors’ entire dynastic era (not a high bar to reach) even at age 39, but so far that has been far from the case.
With this becoming such an obvious problem so early in the season, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that the Warriors could look to trade for a better big man.
So far this season, several big-name forwards and centers have seen their names floated in trade rumors, including New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson and Dallas Mavericks Anthony Davis, who are currently out with injuries.
Meanwhile, reports recently surfaced that Draymond Green shot down a potential Lauri Markannen trade the Warriors orchestrated with the Utah Jazz, so it’s unlikely anything will materialize on that front nowadays.
The Warriors could also look for smaller targets on the trade market, such as Nick Claxton, who has quietly put together a strong year on a rotten Brooklyn Nets team, or perhaps someone like the Portland Trail Blazers’ Robert Williams III, who is currently in a bit of a slump at center.
Whatever they decide to do, it’s already abundantly clear that the Warriors need an upgrade at center.
2025-11-19 17:55:00
