Almost since the moment it was signed in 2024, we’ve been hearing nonstop about how Paul George’s contract is one of the worst in the league. Even in the moment, it seemed risky for the 76ers to offer him a four-year, $211.58 million max contract after the Clippers basically decided they no longer wanted him, and as soon as he got to Philly, it was clear why.
He struggled to stay on the court in year one, and the Sixers had a season from hell, only being salvaged by securing the third overall pick in the draft and coming away with VJ Edgecombe. Last season started off equally poorly and only got worse with a 25-game suspension for using a banned substance.
George infamously went second in Bill Simmons’ annual ‘worst contracts draft’, behind only his (at the time) teammate, Joel Embiid. The situation was bad. Borderline disastrous. But things have changed and time has passed.
Paul George looked great last season down the stretch
For one, PG came back after the suspension and looked great, including an awesome playoff series against the Celtics, in which he went toe-to-toe with Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum. He was as big a part of their shocking comeback series win over Boston as anyone, and that went a long way in restoring his reputation and value around the league.
Furthermore, the deal is a lot better than it was simply because it’s closer to expiring. By now, we’ve all heard about the importance of optionality, and that’s not just a theme for the Celtics; it’s a league-wide sentiment, which was magnified this offseason as we saw very few four-year deals given out, and most of the contracts carried at least one non-guaranteed year.
George's deal will be an expiring trade chip in a year
Even if we assume that PG will pick up his player option for next season, that makes it just a two-year deal. Yes, he’s almost certainly going to be overpaid this season and next, but a year from now, that will just be a massive expiring contract, and those will always be movable and desirable in the NBA as teams get offered a path to freeing up money to clean up their books or create cap space.
Overpaying a player for one or two years is far from the end of the world, especially when you’ve got so many players on discount contracts, and the player in question is one who can still be a very useful piece for the Celtics.
Even if he doesn’t end up a valuable trade chip next summer, there’s always a chance that he fits perfectly in Boston and chooses to opt out and re-sign on a long-term deal to stay in Boston and compete for championships with a lower annual average value.
No matter how it plays out, this problem is very overstated. The Celtics have already done the tough part of avoiding the luxury tax, and the roster is filled out and ready to go this season. We don’t need to worry about the money and can watch this season, see how George looks and how he fits in Boston, then proceed accordingly when the time comes. I’m not saying it’s a good contract or anything like that, but it’s hardly the disaster it once was and that it’s still being perceived as.
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