Al Horford, Joel Embiid could be dream defensive duo for 76ers

If the Philadelphia 76ers were to land Al Horford in free agency, the thought of him teaming up with Joel Embiid would be a defensive nightmare for opponents.

For most of the offseason, the popular topic of discussion surrounding the Philadelphia 76ers has been Jimmy Butler, and whether the team would be able to convince the star forward to return to keep the team in better shape in the Eastern Conference.

However, it looks like Al Horford is all of a sudden finding his name linked to the Sixers for a potential landing spot this offseason, although nothing is set in stone at the moment.

Despite the recent decision by Horford to not exercise his $30.1 million option for the 2019-20 season, early indications pointed to a strong possibility of a new deal being worked out at some point with the Boston Celtics.

Turns out, this may no longer be the case, as reports have come out that contract talks between Horford and the Celtics have stalled to open up the discussions over potential landing spots.

At first, the kind of money Horford would be seeking alone made it seem like Philadelphia would have zero chance of landing the big man.

However, the Sixers may end up being in the mix after all, at least according to one report that claims Philadelphia is one of the favorites.

First off, the immediate thought that comes to mind is how Horford would most likely need to take less money to join a team like the Sixers, but also if he were to ever consider the move, the thought alone of him teaming up with Joel Embiid would make this a huge win.

No one needs to explain to Philadelphia fans just how frustrating it has been to watch Horford defend Embiid over the last two years, but imagine these two teaming up as a new defensive duo for the Sixers.

Between the Toronto Raptors recently becoming NBA champions along with the rise of teams like the Milwaukee Bucks, competing in the Eastern Conference isn’t going to get any easier for Philadelphia moving forward.

Horford may not seem like that big of a deal, but the argument can be made that his solid defensive presence doesn’t always receive the recognition it deserves.

So when taking all of these factors into consideration, if the Sixers managed to land Horford to add another solid defender to the mix alongside Embiid, this could turn out to be a surprise key move in the offseason by Brett Brown and company.