Dec. 15—Al Horford left the NBA bubble in late August not knowing when he and the 76ers would play again. A schedule hadn’t been set for the next season, but several players were counting on a mid-January, or later, tip-off.

Horford, a 13-year veteran, had no reason to rush his offseason training regiment until he talked to Thunder point guard Chris Paul in late October.

“You better get ready,” Horford remembered Paul saying. “I think we’re gonna start Dec. 1.”

But there was no getting ready for what the next few weeks would bring.

Paul was traded from the Thunder to the Suns, and in a separate deal, Dennis Schröder was traded to the Lakers for Danny Green and the 28th pick in the draft. On draft night, the Thunder agreed to flip Green and Terrance Ferguson to Philadelphia for Horford, a pick that became Theo Maledon and a top-six protected 2025 firstround pick.

Horford’s time in Philadelphia was over just one year into his four-year, $109 million contract.

“I wasn’t expecting it,” Horford said of the trade, “but I’ve known the type of organization the Oklahoma City Thunder is. That was the one thing that was positive for me when I looked at it. And now that I’m here I’m actually really excited and looking forward to getting the regular season started.”

The trade between Oklahoma City and Philadelphia wasn’t official until last week, which meant Horford couldn’t report to Thunder training camp when it opened Dec. 1 — the date Paul predicted.

Monday was Horford’s first day of full practice.

“You definitely felt him in the gym today,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said.

“He’s such an easy guy to play with,” Daigneault added. “It remains to be seen how that’s going to flower and how vocal he’ll be and things like that. I think it’s important for guys like Al to find that on their own and for our coaching staff to give him space to do that.”

Horford, along with point guard George Hill, is likely to bring a veteran presence to the Thunder, similar to what Paul did last season. But Horford’s on-court situation is different.

Paul, a 10-time All Star and future hall of famer, played alongside established veterans like Schröder, Steven Adams, Danilo Gallinari and Nerlens Noel. Horford, a five-time All Star, will take a back seat to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on a young, rebuilding roster with far lower expectations than even last year’s team started the season with.

“People are going to call it what they want,” Horford said when asked about the rebuild, “but for our group we’re gonna focus on the work every day ... We’ll let the results speak for themselves.”

It figures to be a different kind of season for Horford, who has only played on two teams with losing records in 13 NBA seasons. He played on Eastern Conference contenders in Atlanta, Boston and last season in Philadelphia.

Oklahoma City is the first Western Conference stop for the 34-year-old center.

“There’s always going to be predictions and talks about teams,” Horford said. “My whole focus and our team’s focus is on coming into work every day and having a good attitude. That’s what I’ve seen since I got here — guys working hard, trying to learn, trying to get better.”