Al Horford explains decision to join Warriors

Now that his deal with the Warriors is official, veteran big man Al Horford shed some light on why Golden State became his new home, via Tim Bontemps of ESPN.

“It’s a great opportunity to compete and to win at a high level,” Horford said at his introductory press conference. “When I think about the Warriors, I think about Steph, Draymond, Steve Kerr and seeing Jimmy Butler here… If there was a place, this was the one. I jumped at it.”

Horford, 39, admitted he wasn’t ready to retire but didn’t expect free agency to stretch into October.

He reportedly committed to the Warriors early in the summer, but the deal was delayed while the team resolved its situation with restricted free agent Jonathan Kuminga.

“It was definitely a very odd offseason,” Horford said. “Just kind of waiting and waiting… My whole focus was on my training and preparing myself and making sure that I was in the best place for when the season started.”