At his introductory news conference with the Celtics, center Al Horford was understandably excited about the new opportunity and NBA world ahead of him in Boston. That said, though, Horford was leaving the only NBA team he’d known — the Atlanta Hawks. Why did Horford decide to stay in the Eastern Conference? What led him to make his decision? What were his thoughts on Atlanta? In an interview with Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Horford answered those questions and more:
It was extremely difficult but at the end looking at the future of the team and having an opportunity to win in a different scenario for me. It wasn’t an easy decision for me but I think at the end Boston just felt it was the best fit for me when looking at everything from their players top to bottom, the amount of players they had and the potential there.
No, in Atlanta for many years we won and were able to be real successful. I think that in Atlanta I was hoping that things would have worked out. Once I saw that things weren’t going to work out, I saw what was going to be the best situation for me to try to win an NBA championship. Like I said, I would have liked for everything to have worked out in Atlanta but it just didn’t happen that way. This is a big opportunity in front of me in Boston.
That made me really upset. I was angry when I heard about that because I never felt that way. I’ve been here a long time. I’ve actually gotten to know a lot of our fans, a lot of our season-ticket holders with the Hawks. They’ve always been great to me. I’ve always been very content and happy with the way they’ve treated me and my family. Parents are sometimes a little more passionate about their sons and daughters. I can relate because I have a son now. So my dad, with him, sometimes he would come to the games and get frustration. His frustrations don’t reflect on me with the fan base.