The rumored move of Atlanta big man Al Horford to the Boston Celtics has reportedly fallen through as the Hawks' asking price is said to be "borderline ridiculous", according to recent reports.
CSNNE's Chris Mannix said that as per his league sources, the Hawks' "requests for both Al Horford and Jeff Teague have been borderline ridiculous", which are "the kind of things teams like Boston, or Milwaukee, or Denver simply won't deal for the players they want".
Mannix was hopeful, though, that these demands would "cool off" as this year's trade deadline approaches, "when the real horse trading begins", which means that if Atlanta is really serious about trading Horford, then the chips will eventually fall into its proper places.
Meanwhile, Fansided reported that the Hawks will not be trading Horford "before the deadline this week". It was also said that the team is not actively shopping him around and will be keeping him unless they "could get an offer they can't refuse".
The two-time NCAA champion, who is set to receive a maximum contract when his current deal expires, said he wants to stay in Atlanta except if things change for the worse.
Horford is in the final year of his five-year, $60 million deal he signed with Atlanta before the 2011-2012 season. He is set to earn $12 million this season and will be an unrestricted free agent in July.
If the Hawks does not trade him before Feb. 18, then they may lose him to free agency this summer, much like what happened to ex-Hawks DeMarre Carroll who jumpshipped to Toronto last year.
Of course, the four-time NBA All-Star can always choose to stay in Atlanta as he had always been there in all of his nine years as a professional and his relationship with Hawks president of basketball operations and head coach Mike Budenholzer remains as strong as ever.
However, he is set to command a huge pay increase next season as the league's salary cap spikes from $70 million to $89 million in 2016-2017 to $108 million in 2017-2018 as its new TV deal kicks in.
It seems like Atlanta will not be able to afford Horford and adding significant free agents for the Hawks' cause next season simultaneously and so big decisions has to be made a couple of days from now.