Paul George is settling into Boston, and the veteran forward says the move has given him a jolt he has not felt in a while.
George told Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe that the criticism and pressure he has dealt with over the years - especially from former players - has weighed on him at times. Still, he sounds energized by what he has walked into with the Celtics.
“ This locker room, the culture here, the front office, the city, the organization, the tradition, all of that is something that I’ve never been a part of,” George told Washburn. “ Where everything is high quality.
For me, it’s refreshing. Hopefully, I can remain healthy.
I think I became a journeyman along the way [of my career]. At this point, I would love to be able to call Boston home.
“ I’m fully immersing myself into this organization with the guys. I’ve been more than happy.
I’m ecstatic with being here, being around these guys, like they brought something else out of me that to be quite frank has been buried, and that’s just a different passion. There’s a love again for this game, and I just think everything is kind of just aligning at the right time for me here.”
George, a nine-time All-Star in his 17th season, has played in just 78 regular-season games over the past two years because of injuries and a 25-game suspension for violating the NBA’s drug policy. He said the banned substance he took was for a “mental health issue.” He arrived in Boston over the summer in the Jaylen Brown blockbuster, after being traded from Philadelphia.
Brown, meanwhile, got his first look at the Celtics as an opponent on Friday, when Boston faced the 76ers in the teams’ final exhibition game before the regular season. The Celtics rested most of their starters, but it still marked Brown’s first game against his former club since the trade.
Gina Mizell of The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that Brown was asked whether the matchup helped “get some of the awkwardness out of the way.” His answer made it clear that chapter is not something he expects to fully close anytime soon.
“ I’m not sure how to answer that,” Brown said. “ I played there for 10 years, so it’ll never be ‘out of the way,’ you know what I mean?
But it was good to see some of the young guys. Spent a lot of time with those guys.
To see them develop and getting better is good to see.”
Brown, a second-team All-NBA selection last season, said his focus is on what comes next for Philadelphia rather than what has already happened. “ We just are inching closer every single day,” Brown said of the 76ers. “ So we’ve got to just continue to emphasize the type of mentality that we want to have - and the accountability that we want to have - and keep moving forward.”
There was also a roster move behind the scenes to keep Boston in line with regular-season rules. The Celtics waived Hayden Gray, Milos Uzan, Gabe McGlothan and Tucker DeVries, all of whom were on non-guaranteed Exhibit 10 deals. Those four are expected to begin the season with Boston’s G League affiliate in Maine.
Devin Carter, another former lottery pick, had his Exhibit 10 contract converted into a two-way deal on Saturday. Carter posted 17 points, five rebounds, three assists, two steals and a plus-22 in 25 minutes in Boston’s preseason win in Cleveland on October 8, but he has not played since because of illness. Jay King of The Athletic reported that Carter is still away from the team with mononucleosis, and Washburn tweeted that the former Kings guard “could miss a few more weeks.”
Boston now has all three of its two-way spots filled, along with 14 players on standard contracts. Carrying a 15th player would put the Celtics above the luxury tax line.
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