As each day of the 2026 NBA offseason passes, we inch closer to the start of the 2026-27 regular season for the Boston Celtics. And as Opening Night draws nearer, the outline of the roster that will take the floor for Game 1 of 82 is starting to come into focus as well.
After Celtics President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens traded star forward Jaylen Brown to the Philadelphia 76ers, it became clear that this is a critical season for the team's current contention arc, with the team being remade to maximize the rest of the team's sole superstar, Jayson Tatum. What is the ceiling, floor, and our expectation for each of the players currently under contract with Boston given this sea change in structure for the team?
To such an end, Daniel Donabedian
and Justin Quinn of the Celtics Wire took a player-by-player deep dive into the answers for these questions. So let's dive into our assessment for Paul George for this edition of our player projections for the campaign soon to arrive.
Paul George - forward
Ceiling
JQ:It might not get further apart for ceiling and floor among Celtics players in the season ahead than that of veteran forward Paul George. Heading into his 17th campaign of his NBA career, that George was still playing high-level postseason basketball as recently as this summer says a lot about the play we could hope for from the Fresno State alum.
This is a fancy way of saying that PG-13's ceiling is to be available for around 60 or more regular season contests, and – in at least some capacity – for most games in the 2027 NBA Playoffs. His minutes for both should shrink on most nights, s his counting stats likely will as well. But ceiling for George at this stage of his career involves health and availability more than anything, as what he is capable of when healthy has remained remarkably consistent per 100 possessions.
DD: While we may have seen Celtics guard Derrick White’s floor during the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs, we also might have witnessed the ceiling of first-year Celtic Paul George. The nine-time All-Star lit it up from deep against the C’s and guarded some of Boston’s biggest names well. It’s not an exaggeration to say George helped the Philadelphia 76ers win that series.
After the “trade heard ‘round the world” this offseason, George is now in green. If he can remain deadly from 3-point range and fend off Father Time for another season, the Celtics could be a contender in the new-and-improved Eastern Conference. He understands his role on the team and already sounds willing to back up Celtics star Jayson Tatum.
Floor
JQ: As alluded to above, the floor for George will likely be less a metaphorical reference to the lowest part of any room, and instead reflecting more his presence on the court. If Father Time decides to cut into Podcast P's play especially hard this season via injury or age related decline, his value to the team will shift more to an especially large trade exception.
That may not be without future value, but for as long as the Palmdale, California native is on the roster, it also represents a massive amount of dead or underwater cap space. To avoid this outcome, he should not be playing any back-to-backs, and shutting him down from All-Star Week to mid-March might also not be a bad plan – no accidental ingestion of banned substances required.
DD: George arguably has the most dangerous floor of any Celtic next season. If injury issues pop up, which they have throughout the twilight of his NBA career, Boston fans will be enraged. Fair or not, Green Teamers will expect a lot out of George since he was the centerpiece of the Jaylen Brown trade. Failing to play over half of the regular season will only further the divide between upset New Englanders and Boston’s front office.
A healthy season will help keep those fans at bay, but George still has to produce when he’s on the court. A 2026-27 campaign filled with poor shooting and delayed defense could get the California native kicked out of Beantown — and maybe hurt the job security of the organization’s top decision-makers.
Expectation
JQ: I am expecting George's age and health to be well-managed by a team with perhaps as much success in that regard in recent seasons as any club in the NBA. But that also likely means he plays around 55 games, and just 20-25 minutes a game in those contests.
His load will likely get ramped up to the high 20 minute range in late March and April for postseason conditioning, but he may also only play that much in the playoffs on occasion, using the longer, more regular gaps between contests to his advantage. Will he be a key starter for the Celtics in what is likely to be his sole season with the team? Probably not. But I do expect him to be an especially helpful option for Joe Mazzulla to deploy selectively in the regular season and beyond, injury gods and Father Time willing.
DD: It’s hard to know what version of George we will watch next season. Will we see him turn back the clock and perform like he did last playoffs? Or will he be in and out of the lineup and look like an aging star approaching retirement?
Either way, it doesn’t seem like the 36-year-old is destined to stay with the Celtics for long. However, if he accepts the fact that he’s closer to a role player than an All-Star at this point of his career and proves ready to support Tatum, George may win some fans over on his way out of Boston. I imagine him being a solid, complementary player this season, with the significant caveat that he stays healthy.
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This article originally appeared on Celtics Wire: Ceiling, floor, expectations: Paul George with the Boston Celtics in 2026-27
