According to MassLive’s Brian Robb, the blockbuster trades of Marcus Smart (for Kristaps Porzingis) and Malcolm Brogdon (for Jrue Holiday) created an opportunity for the Boston Celtics to re-sign Payton Pritchard to a team-friendly contract — and if not for those trades, the Oregon product would be a starter elsewhere this summer.
“Pritchard’s consistent play and effective shooting would have certainly made him a starting point guard candidate this summer if he reached free agency,” Robb said, before adding, “A deep run in the playoffs for Boston would surely just boost his asking price. Instead, the Celtics chose smartly to clear the way for Pritchard’s shot this season by trading Malcolm Brogdon and Marcus Smart, paving the way for a four-year, $28 million preseason agreement.
Pritchard is playing a career-high 21 minutes per game, and as the postseason approaches and the Celtics look to rest their starters before clinching the Eastern Conference’s top seed, he might establish even more career highs.
Brad Stevens certainly trusted “Fast PP” enough to trade away two reliable veterans in Smart and Brogdon, and it has paid off in the second half of the 2023-24 season.
Pritchard’s contract will only be a bargain if he continues to shoot three-pointers at a 39% clip and leads a second unit that has become a hallmark of Joe Mazzulla’s winning ways as Celtics coach.
