After the Boston Celtics blew out the Philadelphia 76ers in their very first legitimate matchup since the Jaylen Brown trade, Brad Stevens deserved to take a victory lap around the entire Northeast. People gave him crap to no end when he traded Brown, and while that was only Round 1, he looked pretty smart for getting George.
That's not just because of how phenomenally George played compared to Brown in that game, but because George has been consistently excellent. Even when he hasn't been hitting his shots, George has proven to be a key cog in Boston's immense success to start the season.
By doing this, it also opens the Celtics up to the question of what they will do with George after this season. George has a player option for $56.6 million, which is pretty lucrative. However, there's always the possibility he could opt out, in which case he would still make more guaranteed money overall, even if he wouldn't make as much on a year-to-year basis.
Sam Vecenie and Keith Smith discussed this on "The Game Theory Podcast," where Vecenie outlined scenarios in which George would take a 1-for-1 deal paying him $45 million annually, thus shedding $11 million off their cap. Another option Vecenie outlines is signing George to a three-year, $120 million deal, giving them access to the full mid-level exception so they can go all in.
It could go either way, and if it does, it's another home run for Stevens because it's clear that George has much more left in the tank than everyone thought, kind of like Al Horford when Boston brought him back. Keeping him on the team is one thing (which seems like the obvious move to make until he proves otherwise), but getting him on a deal that gives them more options?
If Stevens can pull this off, it's another home run for him when he's already got enough home runs to his name.
Celtics need to see George keep this up
I hate to be the buzzkill here, as George has had pretty much an A+ start to the season when thinking about expectations for both him and the Celtics, but Boston has to see him do this for an entire season.
Asking him to do better is ridiculous because it's hard to see how he could have played any better. The quality is not the question with George, but the quantity is. His skeptics continue to point out that he's injury-prone, and it's on him to prove that he is healthy enough to play for most of the season, not all.
If he proves he can, and it pays off with massive dividends for Boston, and both sides then agree to a deal that keeps everyone happy, the Paul George era may not just be beneficial for the Celtics, but historic as well.
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