If George can play 60 games + playoffs (Horford-like), this trade will age well. If it is more like 40-50 games and then worn out for the playoffs (Porzingis-like), not so much and there will be a lot more pressure on what BOS gets out of those picks (either in the draft or trading the picks).
Personally I couldn't care less if he plays 60 regular season games or 40. As long as we're able to be a top four team in the East and play a lesser team in Round 1, the amount of games PG plays is meaningless to me.
It's all about advancing to the ECFs and making it a competitive series. If PG contributes greatly in the playoffs, that's what will make this trade "better."
The trade still sucks (currently), but if PG can push this team to an ECF or better-- not just be on the team, but be our #2 or #3 best player-- then I'll have to revisit the trade and assess it again.
That's a big if. I'm not delusional. But it's not out of the realm of possibility.
If Paul George was guaranteed to be 100% healthy for the playoffs I could even maybe buy the argument that he actually might help us more than Jaylen in the playoffs.
Its just never gonna happen. He got to sit half the year this season for a drug suspension, was totally healthy, and still basically ran out of gas in the 2nd round.
I don't think that series against the Knicks showed us anything about Paul George. Maxey shot poorly too but no one says he ran out of gas.
That Knicks team was just hitting on all cylinders at the right time.
I'm more optimistic about how this season will go with him than many, but we will see. I think his game overall fits better next to the rest of the core guys, and I think that will lead to better overall play from those players.
I think you'll feel differently when you see JB's inside-outside, attack the rim style replaced with yet another jump shooter who barely gets to the line.
The loss of JB isn?t mitigated directly by PG. Rather, the loss of JB is primarily mitigated by a 100% JT. PG then becomes one of a handful of contributors. I dont know who replaces his intensity and on court leadership but the question going into the season isn?t *will PG replace JB?* The answer to that I think is an obvious no.
But I agree with DWC - I?m optimistic about the team till I see otherwise. I look forward to the Q-MR center rotation and I have what I think is a reasonable hope that we get a meaningful leap from one or two of the random wings.
Well, we had a 100% JT and a 100% JB going into this season, so who replaces or mitigates the loss of JB in those circumstances? The goal isn't to be better than last year's team, it's to be better than we were prior to the trade being made.
Yes, the team would have been better this year with JB. Bad trade. But it was made. I get that a lot of Celtics fans can?t enjoy a season if they aren?t competing for a championship. But if the team performs well and they are winning 2 out of every 3 games, I?m probably going to enjoy it. I?m optimistic that they can do that. Not certain, but optimistic.
I can enjoy seasons when the team isn't contending, or even when it's not competitive.
But, it's hard to see two "bridge year", reset the cap seasons in a row when we still had a window as a contender. When a team is relatively close to contending I prefer to see them go for it, rather than worrying about 3+ seasons in the future.
i agree with roy above. i watch the celtics to enjoy myself. it is fun when they are contenders, but i can usually find something to enjoy anyway...i am a celtics fan first and foremost and some seasons i simply enjoyed watching the kids play and see if they would pan out.
but yes, it is fun when they contend....and this year...if everything goes right, they might make it. a healthy core of tatum, george, white, richardson are impressive when healthy. follow that up with a deep team of pritchard, hauser, scheierman, gonzalez, walsh, queta, and cenac...and maybe even harper.
again, i dont think everything will turn out right, health being the key. but i think they will be a good team, worth watching. and i do want to see how the kids turn out.