The Celtics may have found the cleaner fit in Paul George, and the Portland Trail Blazers might have missed the player who made the most sense for them.
Boston’s swap of Jaylen Brown to the Philadelphia 76ers brought back George, along with the 2028 first-round pick, the 2031 first-round pick, the 2028 second-round pick and the 2030 second-round pick. On paper, the Blazers had reportedly been linked to Brown this offseason, and the return looked like a manageable price tag for Portland to chase in what was expected to be an aggressive summer under new owner Tom Dundon.
But George’s Celtics debut raised a different question: was Portland focused on the wrong wing?
Boston opened the season with a 121-113 loss to the Detroit Pistons, yet George hardly looked like the problem. He put up 38 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 5 steals, and he looked very much like a co-star next to Jayson Tatum.
The fit jumped off the screen because it lined up so neatly with Joe Mazzulla’s offense. The Celtics took 42.1 three-pointers per game last season, which ranked fourth in the league. Portland actually finished just ahead of them at 42.2 attempts, but the difference was in the quality of those looks: Boston was top ten in efficiency, while the Blazers sat in the bottom five.
That’s where George changes the equation. Boston didn’t just replace Brown’s 5.7 three-point attempts per game with more shooting - it swapped them for a more efficient version of that same role. That plays directly into Mazzulla’s approach.
George also showed he can handle the rest of the job. He gave Boston secondary playmaking when it was needed, and there were stretches where he looked ready to lean into the hot hand.
Even more important was the way he stayed within himself: spacing the floor, moving the ball, and making the extra pass. That’s the part Boston can bank on, not just the scoring burst.
For Portland, the appeal is obvious in hindsight. The Blazers needed a co-star for Deni Avdija, more shooting and wing help. George would have checked every box while fitting their defensive identity too.
Instead, Boston gets the immediate payoff. George’s two-way impact showed up right away, and his debut made it fair to ask why he wasn’t on Portland’s list of realistic targets this summer.
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