One of the questions that has lingered about the much-maligned Boston Celtics trade that sent Jaylen Brown to the Sixers for Paul George and draft picks is why, if there was a significant financial element to the deal–Brown is set to make almost $58 million this season would have been eligible for a supermax contract this summer–how does it benefit the Celtics to bring in George’s contract, which pays him $54 million for 2026-27?
The answer is that the Celtics won’t pay George beyond this season, at least not the $50 million-plus he is getting this year. It’s possible that George will stay healthy enough and play well enough for the Celtics to keep him beyond this year, but he is not going match his current contract. Thus, the Celtics will save money on the deal, but not this year.
Still, in the short term, the Celtics will be giving one of the league’s biggest contracts to a guy who has had issues with efficiency and availability in recent years, and served a 25-game PED suspension last season. That’s a rough look for Boston.
Celtics Getting an Oft-Injured Star
This week, the folks at Bleacher Report called out the Celtics and George on the situation, tabbing him as, “one of the NBA’s most overpaid players,” on a list that was headlined by George’s former teammate, Joel Embiid.
In the article, the site’s Grant Hughes noted: “George played 37 games last year and 41 the season before. He’s topped 56 just once since 2018-19 and is entering his 17th NBA season. You get it: The trend line here, both in terms of ability and availability, is headed down.
“That’s not to say George is without value. … But the volume of those contributions is almost guaranteed to fall short of justifying his salary.”
Paul George Could Fit Well With Jayson Tatum
Indeed, since the trade, attempts to find some justification for the deal the Celtics made in dealing Brown–who had been with the team for 10 seasons and had been the Finals MVP when the team won a title in 2024–have mostly fallen flat, though the mood in Boston has shifted toward acceptance.
The financial impact of the trade on the future of the Celtics is clear, and there is even the notion that maybe Paul George fits better alongside fellow star Jayson Tatum.
Even the Ringer’s Bill Simmons, a longtime Celtics fan who had been vehemently opposed to the trade conceded on Sirius XM radio, “I think one of the reasons they made the trade is they felt like [Paul George] might be a better fit at this point in [Jayson] Tatum’s career. That’s the thing, I agree with that.
“As you guys know, I didn’t like the trade, I wish they didn’t do it. But think they were feeling like it was a better basketball fit, and I think they wanted some of their other younger swings to play more.”
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