BRIGHTON – Introductory press conferences are often pretty bland. By and large, there’s little to glean about a player from their first time speaking to reporters in a new city. It may reveal a bit about their personality or mindset heading into the season, but beyond that, it’s pretty cookie-cutter.
For the most part, that was the case on Tuesday afternoon. Paul George and Mike Conley Jr. spoke to the media for the first time as Boston Celtics, joined on stage by Joe Mazzulla and Brad Stevens. Mitchell Robinson was supposed to be there as well, but he was a late scratch due to personal matters.
There was no getting around the elephant in the room. The Jaylen Brown of it all. George was the other piece in what is widely viewed as one of the most controversial trades in Celtics history. But his perspective was refreshing.
“Listen, I understand the circumstances,” George said. “I understand how huge JB was, not only for the organization, but here in the city. So I didn't take it personal. To be honest, they should have a relationship emotionally to that trade.”
Now, the question is, what else would he have said? Was he actually going to sit up there and take a stance as bold as ‘I’m here to replace Brown’ or ‘The Celtics won the trade’ or ‘I hate the fans because they’ve hated on me’? Absolutely not.
There was always going to be some sort of middle ground. But the middle ground George found was certainly admirable. In a string of answers to various questions on the topic, he managed to not only give Brown the respect he deserves, but also promise fans that his one and only goal is to prove to them that this current group – in the post-trade world – can do something special.
That’s not to say that the Brown trade was a success. The return still seems minuscule considering what Brown accomplished last season and throughout the course of his time in Boston. But if nothing else, George seems like the type of player Celtics fans should enjoy rooting for.
He’s realistic. That might be the most important piece of it all. Obviously, the second thing most look at when George was traded to Boston (right after his contract) was his injury history. Nobody knows it better than the man himself.
“Obviously, the last two years have been rough just with injuries,” George said. “But for myself personally, I feel great again. I feel like I've turned that corner of dealing with injuries, and now kind of reestablishing myself from a physical standpoint again. And with that, I can carry it over to the court.”
© Eric Canha
Paul George
George’s injury history is a real concern. He knows it, the Celtics know it, and the fan base certainly does, too. But he spent the summer working out instead of rehabbing for the first time in years. And that’s supposedly going to set him up for an exciting campaign.
Beyond the injury history and what it means to play in Boston – to be discussed later – George knows his role. He knows exactly what the Celtics need him to be in order for them to reach their ultimate goals.
For years, the Celtics had two superstars. A 1A and a 1B. Sometimes two 1As. It was Jayson Tatum and Brown. Last year, it was just Brown, and he assumed the top-dog role. And though we’ll never know what it actually would have been like, there was some concern that he wouldn’t want to give that status back next season.
Whether or not he should have or is a question in and of itself, but the fact that Boston traded Brown and not Tatum portrays exactly how it feels about each player. Tatum is the Celtics’ guy.
Now, put yourself in George’s shoes. You’re fresh off two brutal seasons with the Philadelphia 76ers and just got traded in a widely scrutinized move – and you were the guy people were calling ‘not a good enough return.’ For some, all you would want is to get back to your former self. To prove yourself all over again.
The All-Star from the LA Clippers. The MVP finalist from the Oklahoma City Thunder. The franchise superstar from the Indiana Pacers. That’s the George you could strive to be. To rediscover.
George was asked exactly that. Do you expect to be a superstar? He could have said yes. He could have gone on a huge tangent about how he thinks he’s healthy enough and ready enough to return to that level of greatness. Instead, he stepped back.
“Superstar? We have a superstar, and that's JT,” George said. “I'm not here to, not necessarily steal the shine or try to reinvent who I am. I'm here to help JT. He's the guy, right? I've played alongside another superstar wing, and we coexisted beautifully. And so, I see that with myself. I see that with JT. Being able to play off him, being able to help him, being able to kind of still be a mentor.”
That’s exactly what Boston needs. It doesn’t need another grappling contest for the top spot on the team. It already committed to Tatum as the 1A. Had George come to town with a big enough chip on his shoulder to try to change that, things could have been dicey. But that’s not the case.
George wants to help Tatum however he can. He sees Tatum the same way the Celtics do: As the unquestioned top option and leader of the team. Already having that buy-in and understanding before ever playing a game will be instrumental to Boston’s team chemistry.
Both George and Conley did the classic ‘The history here is amazing’ spiel as well. Almost every player who has ever signed with the Celtics has gotten a question along the lines of, ‘What does it mean to play for an organization like this?’ and given a similar response.
© Eric Canha
Mike Conley Jr.
In Conley’s case, it was one of the reasons he decided to sign with the Celtics. He wanted to be a part of a franchise with as much history and legacy as the Celtics.
“It was fairly quick, honestly,” Conley said of his free-agency decision. “But you know the main reason, you look around the league, there's very few organizations and teams that you look at that honestly are trying to win every year. The culture here in Boston speaks for itself. The championships, the banners, the fanbase, it encompasses all of that.
“So, looking around, I was like, 'Man, what opportunities are out there for me?' Boston was a real one. And having an opportunity to play for such a storied franchise.”
But again, that’s almost always the sentiment from newcomers. George said something similar: “When you think of Boston, it's winning, obviously, right? Is it tied for banners? [Brad: Up one.] Up one in banners. [Brad: Mike would say up six, but.] And so, winning. Winning culture, winning environment, winning fan base.”
The most interesting answer Conley provided on Tuesday had nothing to do with Boston. Nothing to do with his decision to sign with the club. Rather, it was his impression of Mazzulla before and after coming to town. It’s a long response, but it’s worth digesting:
“I thought he was crazy before. He's not. No, he's not, he's not. He's not crazy, no. My impressions have been everything that I expected. I think from here, from some of the players who played for him, just from around the league, his ideas -- He's not afraid to push the envelope a little bit. To try things, to try different schemes and different reactions for players, different ways of getting things across. It's refreshing for me.
“You're used to just having coaches kind of be kind of structured in a certain way and how basketball has always been played. I get here, I feel like I don't know what I'm doing. Like I don't know. [Joe: I'll take that as a compliment.] It is. I don't know what, I'm like -- There's so much for me to learn about the game, but the way he sees the game is a different lens. So, I think that's a special thing, and something for me, and I'm sure Paul has [felt it], too."
After the way last season ended, it’s fair to question Mazzulla’s playoff decisions. More than fair, actually. It may be required. He needs to improve in that area if the Celtics want to get back over the hump and win another championship.
But one thing has been cemented: Everyone loves him. Players love him. Coaches love him. And perhaps even more importantly, they respect him.
Conley said it himself: Mazzulla has a reputation. Around the league, people think he’s crazy. It’s easy to look at quotes and press-conference clips and form an opinion. But to be in the building with him is another thing.
It’s taken Conley all but a few weeks to realize that. Do you know how hard it is to make a 19-year NBA veteran question the way he does things? To make a guy like that see a new perspective and learn something about how to approach the game of basketball?
There were some other fun moments throughout the course of the press conference. Stevens correcting George, noting that the Celtics actually have more championships than the Los Angeles Lakers. Mazzulla giving George a death glare when he mentioned how he caught Boston by surprise in the playoffs last year.
All in all, it was pretty standard, though. Both players seem excited to be in Boston. Both gave the expected answers. The real test will come during training camp and at the beginning of the year. Let’s see how they react to however the season ends up going.