Even though Paul George fits the Boston Celtics' vision like a glove on paper, that doesn't change the fact that he's overpaid for his services. He's paid to be the player he once was but no longer is, on top of his age and his injury rap sheet. That doesn't mean he's bad, but Boston is paying him a lot more than what he's worth.
However, outside of the fact that he truly could make Mazzulla Ball the best it's ever been, what makes his contract easier to stomach - besides the fact that it's only two years - is that the Celtics have one of the NBA's best contracts to balance it out: Payton Pritchard.
George will make $54.1 million this coming season and $56.6 million the next, should he opt in (it would be quite the twist if he didn't). In that same time span, Pritchard will make $7.8 million this season and $8.3 million the next.
For everything George can't do for what he's getting paid, Pritchard absolutely exceeds the amount of money the Celtics are paying him.
Pritchard has gotten better every year Boston has asked him to
Ever since Boston got Pritchard to extend, he has gradually proven with each passing year just how team-friendly his deal is. In the first year of that deal, Boston promoted him from the stay-ready group to a consistent rotation player as they went on their run to Banner 18.
The next season, they wanted to conserve Jrue Holiday more, which meant that they had to depend on Pritchard. That was a role he took and ran with, as he not only broke through - 14.3 points per game on .472/.407/.845 shooting splits - but also won the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year award because of it.
His efforts also factored into why Boston depended on him even more after Jayson Tatum went down, as he then topped the previous season's numbers. His career-highs of 17.0 points and 5.2 assists per game, along with his .464/.377/.890 splits, proved that Pritchard was capable of more than many thought he would be.
The Celtics getting that kind of production for someone being paid seven figures is very impressive work. And now, with Jaylen Brown no longer on the team, Pritchard's role may be the largest it's ever been.
With Pritchard likely to take the starting spot for good this season, Boston is definitely going to get perhaps the biggest ROI they have ever gotten on Pritchard, who has already given them that for the past two years.
If and when he does, it should make the Celtics feel all the better about what they're paying George, regardless of how high the price is.
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