Paul George. Image via: NBA.com
Fans have spent the summer venting over the Celtics shipping out 2024 Finals MVP Jaylen Brown to land him, and George said he has heard every word of it. The $211.58 million forward isn’t pretending the Brown trade was painless. His final two seasons in Philadelphia fell short of his usual production, with his scoring dropping below 20 points a game for the first time since an injury-shortened 2014-15 campaign.
“It’s fair to live with that emotion,” he said, acknowledging what Brown meant to the city and the franchise. George said he has no interest in replacing Brown or filling any perceived void. George said that stretch is behind him now, describing himself as fully recovered and back to feeling like himself heading into training camp after dealing with knee surgery and a run of physical setbacks with the Clippers and Sixers.
Paul George didn’t dodge the questions Tuesday when he sat down with Boston media for the first time since the trade that brought him from Philadelphia. Rather than brush past the noise, he addressed it directly. Asked about the backlash from Celtics fans still mourning Brown’s departure, George didn’t push it aside. He was equally clear about what he isn’t trying to do in Boston. Instead, he framed himself as a complementary piece alongside Tatum, a co-partner rather than a second star competing for shots, pointing to his past experience sharing a backcourt with another marquee wing as proof the pairing can work. Health has hovered over George’s arrival since the deal closed.
And now it’s that year’s team,” Stevens said. “It’s two guys who haven’t had a chance to win a championship,” he said, framing that hunger as something that could reignite the rest of a roster that already has a title under its belt. “Nobody’s stepped on it. Conley sees urgency in what he and George bring on day one.