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Nice To Hear Paul George Mention Celtics, But Don't Get Too Excited About Free Agent Landing In Boston

By Matthew Geagan, CBS Boston

BOSTON (CBS) -- It was just a few years ago that the perception around the NBA was that no free agents would ever want to sign with the Boston Celtics.

But thanks to head coach Brad Stevens and the mastermind moves of Danny Ainge, that notion has been completely turned on its head. The C's landed Al Horford and Gordon Hayward the last two summers, and while Boston may not be the destination in the NBA, it's no longer a place free agents avoid like the plague.

In fact, a big-name free agent even dropped the Celtics as a potential landing spot this offseason. Soon-to-be-former Thunder guard Paul George is doing a three-part docuseries for ESPN entitled "My Journey," which will detail his voyage through free agency. Think LeBron James' "Decision," just a lot shorter and without the awkwardness of Jim Gray.

It has long been rumored that George would love to set up shop with the Los Angeles Lakers, so George's journey will likely end up fairly anticlimactic. In a clip for "My Journey,"George tells Dwyane Wade that he'll always want to put on a Lakers jersey, but his biggest priority in all of this is to end up with a winning organization. In doing so, he mentioned none other than the Boston Celtics.

"I want to play for the home team and put a Lakers jersey on. That's always gonna be something that I want to fulfill, but at the same time, it's like, what's the best move though? I know who I am as a player. I just want tohelp a team win, and I feel comfortable doing that with [Russell Westbrook in Oklahoma City]. And then, there's other places too, from Boston to Clippers," said George.

Maybe it was just all that wine talking. But it's great to hear a big-name free agent drop the Celtics into the mix, especially a player who can score like Paul George.

However, there's one somewhat gigantic issue with George trying to join the Celtics: Boston has no cap space available for a player like George and his soon-to-be-huge paycheck. The Celtics would have to clear one of their own big contracts off the books via a sign-and-trade with OKC, meaning Kyrie Irving, Gordon Hayward or Al Horford would have to be sent packing. As good as George is, that likely won't happen.

But again, it's nice to hear the Celtics mentioned in these kinds of conversations, even if it is likely just to drive up George's price tag in the end. Especially if it means that price tag goes up for the Lakers.

 

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