Boston opens preseason without a game played this season, so last season's figures still carry the argument for and against the George trade. A 120.0 offensive rating and a plus-17.9 five-man lineup suggest a ceiling; a 56-26 finish that ended in a blown 3-1 lead suggests why that ceiling wasn't enough.
The offense was elite before the trade that reshaped it.
Boston's half-court offense finished last season at a 120.0 rating, second in the league, while the defense ranked fourth at 111.7, for a net rating of plus-8.3, fourth overall. Those numbers were built around Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum; Brown is gone, traded to Philadelphia for George, and Tatum played only 16 games last season at 32.6 minutes a night. The rating describes a roster that no longer takes the court in that form.
A single five-man lineup outproduced every other group Boston tried.
The lineup of Jaylen Brown, Derrick White, Neemias Queta, Payton Pritchard and Sam Hauser posted a net rating of plus-17.9 across 35 games and 200 minutes, with a 122.6 offense and a 104.7 defense. It is the best net rating any Boston five-man unit produced last season, and it cannot reassemble; Brown's locker is in Philadelphia now.
George's shooting is the number Boston is paying for.
Paul George shot 39.2 percent from three in 37 games last season, the best clip of any projected Celtics starter, ahead of Pritchard's 37.7 and White's 32.7. George is 36 and logged only 30.7 minutes a night in that limited season; the shooting number explains the trade, not whether his body holds up for it.
The payroll leaves little room to add anything else.
Boston's payroll runs $203.9 million, above the $200.4 million luxury tax line and within range of the $209.0 million first apron. Five contracts account for most of it: Tatum at $58.5 million, George at $54.1 million, White at $30.3 million, Mitchell Robinson at $15.0 million and Hauser at $10.8 million. The number says the roster is mostly fixed; it does not say whether it is good enough.
What was Boston's net rating last season?
Boston finished last season at plus-8.3, with a 120.0 offensive rating and a 111.7 defensive rating, ranking fourth in net rating in the league.
Is Boston over the luxury tax for 2026-27?
Yes. Boston's payroll is $203.9 million, above the $200.4 million luxury tax line, though still below the $209.0 million first apron.
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