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Al Horford and Hawks Pour Cold Water on Trade Talks

Over recent days, there has been some talk about trades concerning the Atlanta Hawks star center, Al Horford. And while they didn’t specifically deny any rumors and left the door open, there was clearly enough reason to suspect that Horford could remain a Hawk next year in a report from Yahoo Sports’ Mark Spears.

First, Mike Budenholzer, the president and head coach addressed his star:

“Al is a big part of our program and knows how much we value him,” Hawks president and head coach Mike Budenholzer told Yahoo Sports. “Our focus and job remain the same, and that is building the best program possible and establishing a culture that Al and any other player would want to be part of. He is the type of player we want to continue building with now and into the future.”

Then Horford addressed playing in Atlanta:

“The city itself is a great city,” Horford told Yahoo Sports. “People are great. This Hawks’ organization is moving in the right direction. With the new ownership, with the coach, I really feel good about the future of the Hawks.”

But he did leave the window open a crack.

“Atlanta has the potential for a guy like myself to maximize [the business] part of it,” Horford told Yahoo Sports. “But obviously there are other cities, bigger cities that are more appealing probably [business- and marketing-wise]. The impact would be bigger if that is what you are looking for.”

Sometimes there’s a foregone conclusion that the player and team are ready to part. This is clearly not one of those times, and Atlanta will have a big advantage in how much they can offer Horford. If they suspect they can keep him, they will probably try to do so. And Horford’s comments certainly lead credence to that.

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