Sixers Ready To Hurt Celtics, Spoiling Boston's Alternate Plan

Boston Celtics are almost certain to be without two players in Al Horford and Kyrie Irving next season with both players expected to opt out of their contracts and look for pastures new in free agency. The C’s were hoping to at least convince Horford to remain but the Philadelphia 76ers are reportedly interested in making the center/power forward an offer.

The Sixers and Celtics share a rivalry in the Eastern Conference and their move for Horford is certain to deepen it going into next season. The Celtics forward is said to be open to signing with a contender and has reportedly named 76ers as one of the teams he would be open to joining.

Horford will be a good addition to the Sixers line up and give them added strength in the front court. One player who will be happy to see Horford on the same team will be Joel Embiid due to his struggles against the defense the Celtics center mounted during their encounters in the past two seasons.

The 33-year-old is said to want a four-year deal worth $112 million, which the Celtics are willing to offer and a Fansided report claims that the 76ers will have the exact same amount to spend if Tobias Harris’ cap hold is removed and the forward signs elsewhere when he enters free agency. But Horford’s age is certain to be a concern when teams ponder a potential four-year deal as he will be 37 when he enters the final year of his contract.

However, Sixers’ plans of hurting Celtics does not end there with Yahoo Sports’ Darren Hartwell reporting that they are also interested in yet another Boston target, Malcolm Brogdon, who will be a restricted free agent in the summer. The Milwaukee Bucks shooting guard played a key role in helping his team finish top of the Eastern Conference and make the playoff finals which they lost to eventual champions Toronto Raptors.

The Celtics are losing two key players in Irving and Horford this summer, which will give them $25.8 million in cap space going into free agency. But the team can clear $34 million in cap space if they renounce their rights to all the free agents, namely, Terry Rozier, Daniel Theis and Brad Wanamaker.

While the increased cap space will give them a chance to have a good run at the unrestricted free agent market, they are expected to go on a different route and try to sign restricted free agents with Malcolm Brogdon, Thomas Bryant and Tomas Satoransky on the radar at the moment.

The Celtics do not have all the power when it comes to signing restricted free agents. The Boston franchise can make an offer and reach an agreement with the player, but will have to wait to see if the incumbent team will match the offer.

It is likely to take a substantial offer from the Celtics for a team to pass up on a chance of retaining the player, especially if they regard him a future prospect. Especially, Brogdon, whom the Bucks will be keen to retain after an impressive 2018-19 campaign where he averaged 15.6 points and 4.5 rebounds in 28.6 minutes per game.