Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here… highlighting the big story line. Because there’s nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.
Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck wanted to make that very clear throughout Friday’s press conference introducing Horford — that Horford is a future member of the Celtics, not an official current one. Otherwise, Grousbeck said, the fines would start to stack up.
But no matter Horford’s official contractual status, his answers left very little doubt of his confidence in his decision.
“I have a lot of respect for this organization,” Horford said, when asked why he chose the Celtics. “I’m excited. I’ve always admired the Celtics from afar, how everything gets carried over here, how committed the team and the city is to winning and doing things the right way. I’m very excited, and I can’t wait to get started.”
And, later:
The Celtics have, now, officially signed Al Horford.
— Jay King (@ByJayKing) July 9, 2016
Horford later threw out the opening pitch at Fenway Park, and the Al Horford Era is now upon us.
Anyway, it was all positives and upbeat stuff at the press conference, as one would expect, and for once, the management and ownership reps outnumbered the players on the podium.
Sure, we could mention that according to Horford, Kevin Durant “definitely considered” the Celtics, but why keep doing that to ourselves?
There was also a bit of mystery…
Page 2: What the heck is all of this supposed to mean?
“Well, I feel the phones are definitely ringing. Danny is definitely talking to people for sure, and has indicated that our work is not yet done,” Grousbeck said at the Celtics practice facility in Waltham. “But I’ve got to say that I feel good about this team and I feel patient. We have draft picks coming up. We have a long-term strategy. I don’t just want [Banner] 18. I want 19 and 20.”
“We were just talking about a trade earlier today where the asking price from the other team was for a difficult player, and I’m not going to say who, but it’s dropped pretty significantly since draft night,”
And so when this story hit, we were all wondering what the Celtics were going to do next. who’s the difficult player? What dropped significantly? What’s ‘significant’ mean? What’s ‘difficult’ mean? Why have we all forgotten that this is the same guy that promised us ‘fireworks’?
Couple this with the lack of progress on the Sullinger and Zeller fronts, Danny’s cryptic comments at the press conference and last night, and the fact that the Celtics brass were at pains to point out that Horford was not officially a Celtic, and we were on pins and needles all afternoon–at least those of us whose brains were not fully occupied by their paying jobs…
And as it turns out, nothing happened.
Finally: Let’s review the best Olynyk recruiting pitch tweets
One of the surprise discoveries is that Kelly Olynyk was not only part of the select group of Celtics players that pitched Durant and Horford, but that Horford went out of his way to talk up Olynyk. That provoked some high quality twitter this morning.
Inside Horford recruiting trip…
Ainge: Kelly, show him the burrito thing.
[Olynyk downs burrito in 4 bites]
Horford: Where do I sign?
— Chris Forsberg (@ESPNForsberg) July 8, 2016
Al Horford mentioned Kelly Olynyk a ton in his presser. Leveraging Canadian politeness in the C’s sales pitch is not getting enough play
— Brendan Jackson (@jacksobd) July 8, 2016
Confirmed: Kelly Olynyk is the reason Al Horford signed with Boston
— Jeff (@spoons51) July 8, 2016
The rest of the links
MassLive: Boston Celtics rumors 2016: Al Horford acquisition still leaves Celtics with ‘work to do,’ per Danny Ainge | Al Horford: Kevin Durant ‘definitely considered’ Boston Celtics in free agency
CSNNE: Kyler: Horford signing speaks to Celtics culture and character | Rozier ready to step up for Celtics with departure of Turner | Horford proves free agents aren’t overlooking C’s anymore | Al Horford ‘constantly enhances his teammates’
Boston Herald: Celtics notebook: Opportunity awaits guard Terry Rozier | Celtics brass praise Al Horford at introductory press conference
Boston.com: Al Horford says his signing ‘will open the doors for many other big free agents’ | Watching Dwyane Wade’s awkward situation from afar has been satisfying for Celtics fans (special item from the Schaudenfreude department)
Boston Globe: Al Horford gets a Fenway welcome | Al Horford likes where Celtics are headed, and wants in on that
NESN: Al Horford, Danny Ainge Agree Celtics Aren’t Title Contenders Just Yet
Providence Journal: Horford: Celtics players, coach, pitch were very attractive
