NBA Rumors: Sixers' Al Horford Might Not Have Trade Value This Offseason

Over the last year or so, the Philadelphia 76ers' front office has made some bold moves. As first-time General Manager Elton Brand wanted to make a statement during his rookie year in the front office, the former Sixers' player came in aggressive by making multiple blockbuster trades throughout last season.

At the time, Brand was being praised for his moves. Although the Sixers' 'win-now' deals didn't translate to a championship, many had their faith in Brand when the offseason approached. That's when the questions started coming in, though.

A max deal for Tobias Harris had Sixers fans divided on they how they felt. Trading away Jimmy Butler and offering up his max money to Ben Simmons was another move that caused a mixed bag of reactions. Then, Brand made a move that put him under the most scrutiny this season as he inked 33-year-old Al Horford to a four-year, $109 million deal.

Snagging insurance for an often-injured Joel Embiid made sense. But paying that kind of money to Horford, who was likely to struggle alongside Embiid and Ben Simmons, was somewhat puzzling. Although the evidence of the struggles was there, the Sixers weren't ready to call it quits on Horford yet when the trade deadline came and went this year.

But the offseason will be a different story. According to a recent report from USA Today, the Sixers will look to shop Horford around if there are any teams interested in the veteran big man. 'If' being the keyword here. Recently, Sports Illustrated's own Chris Mannix went searching for answers around the NBA regarding Al Horford.

His quest was to see if the Sixers' big man was garnering any early interest ahead of the offseason. Apparently, the market for Horford early on is quite dry. "I would be shocked if he has value," a veteran NBA executive told Mannix. "[The Sixers] might have to include an asset for someone to take off their books. He has not looked good this year."

The executive then went on to say he thinks the Sixers "have to try" and trade Horford away because it's apparent he can't play alongside Embiid. At the moment, the Sixers are stuck with the Horford experiment and have to figure out ways to make it work as best as they can. When summer rolls around, though, it sounds like they will try to cut the cord on this situation three years early if they can find a suitor.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him on Twitter: @JGrasso_