When people say a player is “a Steve Kerr kind of guy,” they usually mean someone who thrives in a system built around adaptability, unselfishness, and fit alongside Stephen Curry’s gravity. That’s the archetype Kerr has leaned on for a decade — role players who can plug into multiple schemes, read the game quickly, and elevate Golden State’s motion-heavy offense.

So when reports surfaced of the Warriors’ strong push to land Al Horford, the fan response was predictable: groans, eye-rolls, and skepticism about adding a 39-year-old big man. Yet while many supporters struggle to see the upside, analysts like Dalton Johnson view it as a move that makes perfect sense within Kerr’s ecosystem.

Johnson, who has covered the Warriors closely for years, frames it simply: “Al Horford has always felt like a very ‘Steve Kerr, Warriors-y’ type of player.” What he means is that Horford is not just a floor-spacing big, but a connective piece — a center who can stretch defenses to the perimeter, facilitate from the elbows, and anchor a unit without demanding touches.

For a Warriors team that still orbits Curry’s shooting and decision-making, Horford embodies the exact qualities Kerr has always valued: versatility, spacing, IQ, and defensive reliability.

Now no one can say that Al Horford doesn’t have at least two more seasons in him. A veteran presence and an evolving center made him a key player for the Celtics and he can do that in San Francisco too. Fans just hate that he’s 39, coming to another aging roster. Maybe they’d rather see more of an investment in Trayce Jackson-Davis. But Johnson revealed stats that proved that Horford actually has experience adapting to the Stephen Curry ecosystem.

“In his first eight seasons, Al Horford took 65 three-pointers. He only made 21 of those for a 32.3% three-point percentage. But what happened the next year? And what was the next year? His ninth season in the NBA was the 2015-2016 season, which just so happened to be Steph Curry’s unanimous MVP season when he won back-to-back MVPs.”

That was one of the most thrilling periods in the NBA, Curry, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving in their primes and the three-point line not looking so impossible anymore. Now the likes of Shaquille O’Neal and Kevin McHale are tired of bigs attempting threes. Al Horford didn’t subscribe to that notion.

“So that 2015 season, Al Horford goes from attempting 65 three-pointers in his first eight seasons in the NBA to then making 88 in one season and shooting nearly four times as many as he had up to that point in his career. He took 256 threes in his ninth season in the NBA. Talk about someone who could change his game that far into his career. Pretty amazing to think about,” Dalton Johnson said.

Horford in fact did go from a Shaq-like terrible 3-point shooter to peaking in 2017-18 with a career-high 42.9%. He was a veteran by then, and vets changing their game to suit their aging bodies is nothing new. But to adapt in less than a season and to another player who is decidedly your opponent at that time, that’s one of the unique qualities of Horford. And that’s probably why he benefits Steve Kerr.

Al Horford won’t be a Kuminga situation

The Warriors have always been hailed for their player development. But only till you fit in Steve Kerr’s Curry-shaped aesthetic. And not everyone has fit in vis-a-vis, Jonathan Kuminga. The youngster’s friction with the Head Coach is well documented and Kerr would rather bench him than disturb his play. Kuminga knows his potential is limited and so he wants to leave.

But the front office’s indecision on Kuminga will play a role in the offered deals to Gary Payton II and Payton Pritchard. Without Kevon Looney, as Dalton pointed out, the locker room situation is soured and only Horford could fix that.

He’s not only a potential starting center, he’s going to take the load off Draymond Green and help in Jackson-Davis’ development. But it’s his 3-point style that will be a great fit with Curry.

Horford has made 976 shots from downtown in his career, most of which came in the latter half. His shooting rate from the arc of 37.7% is usually a respectable number for a center.

Even when he’s not played a full season, his 3-point average is impressive which Johnson points out, “Like I said, three straight seasons of at least 100 three-pointers. And in that span, he has shot over 40% from three-point range in the last three seasons. And this really is a complete change of the guard when it comes to the Warriors in three-point shooting centers in the Steph Curry era.”

Johnson’s reasoning explains why the Warriors were so determined to sign Al Horford. Only fans are going to need a little more convincing.