NBA: One big question for each team heading into the 2019-20 season

Boston Celtics

How will they fill the void left by Al Horford?

I won’t sit here and act like I expected the Boston Celtics to lose both Kyrie Irving and Al Horford this summer, but I’m also not all that surprised that it actually happened. Kyrie was never a great bet to re-sign, and Horford felt the window had closed for the team. You can’t really blame him from moving on after it was apparent that Kyrie was leaving.

While the Celtics might’ve recovered nicely after losing Kyrie – by signing Kemba Walker in free agency – you can’t say the same about losing Horford. Kemba could emulate the impact of Kyrie. Kemba is one of the most underrated scorers in the league, and is probably a better “team guy.”

He’s not going to cause a ruckus in the locker room and will be a leader on-and-off the floor. If he did it in Charlotte (on a much less talented team), there’s no question that he will do it with ease in Boston. However, what the Celtics failed to address this summer was the loss of Horford. He was a great leader in the locker room and probably the best two-way player on the roster.

They replaced Horford with Enes Kanter and Grant Williams while hoping Daniel Theis and Robert Williams take another step in their progression. Not exactly an ideal replacement plan for arguably the most well-rounded big in the NBA.