Al Horford denies report he left Hawks because they signed Dwight Howard

Why did Al Horford leave the Hawks for the Celtics?

He cited money, the biggest factor in player movement.

But did Atlanta signing Dwight Howard play a part? A couple reports say so.

Ken Berger of CBSSports:

Factor No. 1, according to league sources: Horford was none too pleased with how reluctant the Hawks were to come forward with a full five-year max. Factor No. 2: Atlanta’s signing of Dwight Howard. Could there be a more contradicting force in the NBA to Horford than Howard, in terms of substance vs. style?

“He didn’t want to play with Dwight,” a person familiar with the situation told CBS Sports.

Zach Lowe of ESPN:

They came up short on the money, and acquired Howard -- about whom Horford had major reservations, per sources close to the situation.

Horford denies that, though.

Horford, via Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

No, no, no. Not at all. I don’t have a problem with Dwight at all. I think that he is a great player and he has a lot of ability and a lot of potential. It has nothing to do with not wanting to play with Dwight. I don’t know if you remember but there was a time when I wanted to play power forward. With a guy like him, that would have been easier. It had nothing to do with Dwight. He’s a good guy.

Howard doesn’t seem like the best teammate, but neither I nor Horford have played with him. As a free agent, Horford had little recourse but to go by hearsay -- positive or negative -- about Howard. It’s not as if Horford could have a test run playing with Howard.

Leaving Atlanta in part because of Howard is a perfectly acceptable choice. But slamming Howard publicly on the way out the door would be viewed as totally unacceptable.

So, file this under: What else is he supposed to say?