New Paul George Rumors Uncover Celtics' Stance on SF After Jaylen Brown, 76ers Trade

Despite the prevailing thought that the Boston Celtics came out on the losing end of the trade that sent Jaylen Brown to the Philadelphia 76ers this offseason, the Celtics reportedly believe Paul George can be a key cog for them.

According to Jay King of The Athletic, the Celtics "sounded convinced" that George "still has some high-level basketball left to contribute," during conversations at the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas.

King added that multiple people within the Celtics organization brought up George's strong play against Boston in last season's playoffs as a potential reason for the belief in his ability to replace Brown effectively.

The 36-year-old George was a driving force behind Philly's upset of Boston in the first round of last season's playoffs, as he averaged 17.4 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.1 three-pointers made, 3.0 assists and 1.4 steals per game during the series, while also shooting 48.9 percent from the field and 55.0 percent from beyond the arc.

Reacting to Jaylen Brown-Paul George Trade ‼️

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King noted that George was also hugely responsible for guarding both Brown and Jayson Tatum, who were the Celtics' top two offensive players last season.

While the Celtics also received draft picks in the Brown trade, George is the one piece who will be tasked with immediately stepping in and trying to make up for the loss of Brown, who finished sixth in NBA MVP voting last season.

George has a long history of success with nine career All-Star selections, but injuries have been a major issue for him in recent years, as he has reached the 60-game mark only once in the past seven seasons.

He was limited to 41 games in 2024-25 and 37 games last season, and his offensive production has also been way down with averages of 16.2 points per game in 2024-25 and 17.3 points per game last season after averaging 23.6 points per game from 2015 to 2024.

George is an entirely different player than Brown at this juncture, and there is little doubt that Boston will experience a dip in overall offensive production, but if he stays healthy, George could help improve the team defense and be a strong complement for Tatum, Derrick White and Co.