Last season's 56-26 record and a plus-8.3 net rating still ended with Philadelphia erasing a 3-1 series lead. Boston answered by sending Jaylen Brown to Philadelphia and taking back Paul George and four draft picks, betting a $203.9M payroll on one season from a 36-year-old forward.
Boston already lost the series it was supposed to win.
Last season's roster went 56-26, ranked second in offense at 120.0 and fourth in defense at 111.7, for a net rating of plus-8.3. None of that held up in the playoffs: Philadelphia erased a 3-1 series lead and ended Boston's season in the first round.
The return for Brown is older but still productive.
Boston sent Jaylen Brown to Philadelphia and took back Paul George, now 36 and entering his 16th season, along with four draft picks, two firsts and two seconds. George's last season reads 37 gp, 30.7 min, 17.3 pts, 5.3 reb, 3.6 ast, 3P% 39.2 — a starter's line, just a decade older than the wing he replaced.
The picks are insurance, not the headline.
Those four picks land in a draft book that already owes second-rounders to San Antonio, Oklahoma City and Brooklyn. If George's age shortens his window before the rest of the roster is ready, the picks are what's left to work with, not a guarantee anything gets fixed.
The payroll leaves Boston no second attempt.
Boston's payroll stands at $203.9M, above the $200.4M tax threshold and approaching the $209.0 million first apron, which is why this swap has to work now rather than later. Trading an All-Star wing for an older All-Star plus four picks is a defensible answer to a series Boston led 3-1 and lost — but it is a one-year bet, not a hedge, and the apron leaves no budget to try again if it fails.
Why did the Celtics trade Jaylen Brown?
Boston made the move after Philadelphia erased a 3-1 series lead and ended last season's playoff run; the return was Paul George and four draft picks, two firsts and two seconds.
Are the Celtics over the salary cap this season?
Boston's payroll is listed at $203.9M, above the $200.4M tax threshold and closing in on the $209.0 million first apron.
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