Al Horford is an All-Star center, but his father, Tito Horford, would prefer to see him at his natural position.

"I’ve been begging [general manager] Rick Sund and the Hawks for the last three years -- please get a center so my son can pay his normal position," the elder Horford said. "He can’t push guys out of the box like I could. If he moved to forward, he would have a longer career."

Atlanta coach Larry Drew agrees that Horford would be a force as a power forward.

“He’d be a beast,” Drew said.

Horford has taken a beating, particularly on the defensive end. Drew is trying to minimize the issue by going with a “big” lineup about 40 percent of the time: Horford moves to power forward, Josh Smith to small forward, Jason Collins steps in at center and Marvin Williams goes to the bench.

Drew admitted, “I’ve even thought of making the change permanent.”