Paul George enters this Celtics season with the kind of range that can swing Boston’s entire outlook. The trade that sent Jaylen Brown to the Philadelphia 76ers left George as the lone incoming piece, and that means the pressure lands squarely on him. Boston isn’t asking him to be Brown, but it does need him to help absorb Brown’s scoring, playmaking, rebounding and two-way presence if the Celtics are going to matter in the Eastern Conference.
The optimistic version starts with health. Boston would love to see George put together his healthiest season since leaving Los Angeles in 2024, which also happened to be his last All-Star year.
In 2023-24 with the Clippers, he played 74 games and put up 22.6 points, 5.2 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.5 steals per night while hitting 41.3 percent of his 3s. He was still operating as one of the league’s better two-way wings.
At 36, the All-Star label may be harder to grab now, especially with how loaded the Eastern Conference forward group is. But if George looks like a real difference-maker on a contender again, he could still land on the All-Star fringe.
Boston doesn’t need him to duplicate Brown’s 28.7 points, 6.9 rebounds and 5.1 assists from last season. Jayson Tatum is the top option.
The rest of the roster, George included, has to chip away at Brown’s production as a group.
That’s where George’s fit becomes so important. If he’s a steady shooter, gives the Celtics another layer of playmaking and helps maintain their already strong defense, he can make the trade look a lot cleaner.
The bigger question isn’t whether he can still flash that level. It’s whether he can hold it for a full season.
If he can give Boston 28 to 32 minutes a night across more than 60 games, the Celtics would probably take that in a heartbeat.
There is at least one reason to believe the ceiling is still reachable. George missed 25 games last season because of a suspension tied to a violation of the NBA’s anti-drug program. Without that, he would have had a shot to get to around 60 games.
The downside is just as stark. George has not been especially available over the last two seasons, appearing in only 41 games for the Philadelphia 76ers in 2024-25 and then 37 games in 2025-26.
The production dropped too. For the first time in more than a decade, he fell below 20 points per game, averaging 16.2 in 2024-25 and 17.3 in 2025-26.
Role matters there, but so does age and mileage. George is 36, a veteran forward with a long career and a lot of minutes on his legs.
Some decline at this point wouldn’t be shocking. A sharp one would be a problem for Boston.
If that happens, the Celtics would be forced to lean even harder on Tatum, who would already be carrying major expectations not long after tearing his Achilles. Joe Mazzulla would also have to squeeze more out of less-proven forwards like Sam Hauser, Baylor Scheierman and Hugo Gonzalez.
Even a solid regular season wouldn’t erase the concern if George can’t bring enough offense in the playoffs. Boston needs someone who can make teams pay when they load up on Tatum. If George can’t do that, the questions around the decision to move Brown are only going to get louder.
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Derrick White Just Spotlighted A Real Celtics Offensive Dilemma
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With Tatum back, the fit should look more familiar for White, and that matters for a player whose best work often comes when he can play a cleaner, more balanced role. For the Celtics, the bigger question is less about Whites place in the rotation and more about how much the offense can restore the version of him that fits best alongside their stars. [Read more 🡒]