A lot of fans still aren't over the Boston Celtics' decision to trade Jaylen Brown to the Philadelphia 76ers for Paul George and picks.
And I get it. I still don't love it either, even after having a month and a half to sit with it. But I'm also at least starting to see the vision and am understanding why the Celtics made the deal (financial reasons, possibility of Brown not wanting to revert to being a second option, him not being a great fit next to Jayson Tatum), and a big part of that is because of George.
He may be 100 years old now and is pretty much guaranteed to miss half of next season due to injury, but George can still ball. The Celtics and the fanbase saw it firsthand during last season's first-round playoff matchup (17.4 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 1.4 steals, 48.9/55/77.8% shooting splits, and played incredible defense in seven games), and on paper, he's a great fit alongside Tatum.
Fans should already have been excited about the California native's arrival and what he can bring to the team, and he just gave everybody another reason to be pumped.
Paul George will help the Celtics compete next season
In a recent video uploaded on the team's official YouTube channel, George made it clear that he is "ecstatic" to join the team and plans on giving everything he has.
“I’m gonna give y’all everything… It’s surreal. I’m ecstatic. I’m looking forward to the journey. I’m looking forward to wearing that green and representing for Boston," George said.
On top of that, it was already reported by ESPN's Bobby Marks that George waived his $3.9 million trade bonus, likely to give Boston a little more financial flexibility.
I don't know him personally (though that would be pretty cool if I did), but it seems like George is genuinely happy to be in Boston and help the Celtics prove everybody wrong next season. A lot of people are counting them out after their early playoff exit and the Brown trade (as well as the rest of the East climbing the rankings), but that's not entirely fair.
The Celtics still have a fantastic roster on paper. They made some solid acquisitions this summer (Mitchell Robinson will be a beast on the boards and help them win the possession battle, and Mike Conley provides a much-needed locker room presence), and fans should be excited about No. 1 option Tatum hoops, an increased role for Payton Pritchard, and leaps from players like Hugo Gonzalez and Baylor Scheierman.
Celtics fans have every right to still be upset about the Brown trade, but that doesn't change the fact that there is still a lot to look forward to... and George is going to be a big part of that.
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