Al Horford says he's 'very happy in Atlanta,' despite reluctance to talk new contract
Al Horford isn't in a hurry to discuss a new contract with the Atlanta Hawks before he becomes an unrestricted free agent next summer. That shouldn't be taken as a sign he isn't content playing for the franchise, though.
"For me, I’m very happy in Atlanta," Horford said to Sports Illustrated's Jeremy Woo.
"It’s one of those things where I don’t want any contract talks to be a distraction for my team and me. I feel like my focus this year is for us to build and be better. Since we can’t do anything right now, we’ll wait until the season’s over and then we can start talking about all that."
The three-time All-Star previously indicated that his main concern involved helping the team get better, building on a season in which Atlanta finished with a franchise-best 60 victories.
"It was a great season for our team," Horford told Woo. "I felt like everything started to come together as far as coach's system. I feel like we really all were able to sink in and play the way he wanted us to play. And it showed – (it was) the first time we made it to the Eastern Conference finals in Hawks history. Now, we're looking to build on that and try to be the best team we can."
The end of Horford's five-year, $60-million rookie-scale extension is drawing near, with the 6-foot-10 big set to be one of the more sought-after names in the 2016 free-agent pool. The NBA's salary cap is projected to reach roughly $70 million, and with more teams having the space to make significant bids, it's clearly in Horford's best interest financially to field offers, rather than commit too soon to the Hawks.
Atlanta's chances to re-sign their star big will greatly depend on how the team responds to being swept in the Eastern Conference finals by the Cleveland Cavaliers.
In 76 games last season, Horford averaged 15.2 points and 7.2 rebounds, shooting 53.8 percent from the field with a PER of 21.4.