Al Horford wants to stay but Hawks ‘have big some decisions to make’

10:00 PM ET

ATLANTA –- Despite being swept in the playoffs for the second straight season at the hands of LeBron James, Mike Budenholzer doesn’t believe the Atlanta Hawks should break up their core.

The coach and team president wants to re-sign free agents Al Horford and Kent Bazemore.

“Losing to Cleveland twice is tough,” Budenholzer said after the Hawks met for the final time for the season on Monday. “But to the fanbase, to people who think (about blowing it up), if we want to find a way to beat, whether it be Cleveland or whoever the great teams in the league or our conference are, blowing it up is probably not the way to beat a team like Cleveland.”

The Hawks figure their best chance of remaining competitive and relevant is to try to bring back Horford. Horford, a four-time All-Star, will turn 30 in June but could very well command a maximum contract. Considering that he is a center who can shoot from the perimeter, Horford could draw plenty of attention in free agency.

“There are a lot of things that we need to address,” Horford said of his impending decision. “But the biggest thing for me is I feel good here. I have a great relationship with Coach. That is important to me, and my teammates. Atlanta is a city that welcomed me from the first day … I like the way the team is going, I feel like we can win here.”

Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer thinks that keeping Al Horford is necessary to challenge LeBron James and the Cavaliers. Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

Both Horford and the Hawks sounded …

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