Al Horford occupies the same space that Joe Johnson did in 2010: He’s essential to everything the Hawks do, but there’s no guarantee that keeping him will make them any better than — or even as good as — they’ve already been.
In July 2010, the Hawks re-upped Johnson for $119 million over six seasons. It was immediately characterized as one of the worst NBA contracts ever. (This from the franchise that brought you Jon Koncak.) When Danny Ferry became general manager in 2012, Job 1 was to offload the rest of that oppressive outlay. Somehow he did.