“I haven’t told you this, but you knew it was going to happen – I’ve kind of talked myself into the Paul George trade,” Simmons stated. “Aug. 23, took over 50 days, it happened this week… I knew I would, you knew I would. Honestly, 50 days is kind of a long time! But now I’ve talked myself into it.”
Simmons’ admission came in response to a question over whether Jayson Tatum would have led the 2025-26 Celtics to the same record without Brown that Brown did while Tatum recovered from his Achilles injury.
Simmons acknowledged that Tatum likely would have had the same success, recognizing the impressive level of performance Brown displayed to replace a four-time All-NBA First Team selection, but paving the way for his acceptance that the Celtics will still be fine in the post-Jays era.
Better fit without Jaylen Brown?
Even Celtics President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens can’t deny that George is an aging star who is past his prime and not the most durable over the course of a season.
But that may not stop a Tatum-led Boston Celtics team from putting the pieces together and coming up with a year that matches or even exceeds what Brown was able to do as the frontman, particularly if rotation pieces like Payton Pritchard are able to take their game to the next level within the new scheme.
And Simmons, albeit with a hint of sarcasm in his voice, shared his feeling that the current Boston Celtics roster might actually be better constructed to support its main man than anything Brown previously had to work with.
“Paul George, Hugo (Gonzalez), Ron Harper, Baylor Scheierman – we can replace Jaylen with bulk!” Simmons said. “All kinds of looks. Paul George, much better fit with Jayson Tatum. Good catch-and-shoot 3-point shooter, not going to care about an alpha-dog situation, a ‘your-turn-my-turn,’ because he’s in his mid-30s, he’s ready to be a supporting guy.”
Even within an improved Eastern Conference, the Boston Celtics do look primed to compete across the 2026-27 campaign, at least in the regular season. And, more than likely, Bill Simmons isn’t the only C’s fan trying to reassure himself that everything is going to be alright without Boston’s most recent Finals MVP.
But if Tatum, George, and the rest of the roster can exceed expectations in the coming year, many of those same fans might be surprised at just how quickly they can forgive and forget what seemed like a devastating trade mere months ago. Unlike Simmons, there’s a chance they may not even need to be sedated to get there.