Which path should the Boston Celtics take with Payton Pritchard?
The 25-year-old point guard expressed his desire for a bigger role prior to the 2023 NBA trade deadline and has "made it clear" he wants to be traded this summer, per The Athletic's Jay King. It's hard to blame Pritchard for wanting out after he was buried behind Marcus Smart, Derrick White and Malcolm Brogdon on Boston's backcourt depth chart this season.
But is it in the Celtics' best interest to trade Pritchard, and if so, which team might take him? In a conversation with Heavy.com's Sean Deveney, an Eastern Conference general manager named two teams that could make sense for Pritchard: the Utah Jazz and Portland Trail Blazers.
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Both teams are logical fits: The Jazz are led by CEO of basketball operations and former Celtics executive Danny Ainge, who took Pritchard in the first round of the 2020 NBA Draft and "loves" the fourth-year guard, per the GM. One potential trade floated by Bleacher Report's Greg Swartz involves Pritchard and Danilo Gallinari heading to Utah in return for ex-Celtics big man Kelly Olynyk, who would bolster Boston's frontcourt while spacing the floor as a strong 3-point shooter.
The Blazers will be in the point guard market if they move on from All-Star Damian Lillard, and a trade to Portland would be a homecoming for Pritchard, who is from the Portland area and played his college ball at Oregon.
"A good shooter who can organize the team would be the right fit there, and the Blazers are looking to add that kind of player, a guy who can shoot and play either guard spot," the GM told Deveney.
The question is whether trading Pritchard is the right move for Boston. He's set to make just $4 million in 2023-24 on the final year of his rookie deal, and if the Celtics decide to trade Malcolm Brogdon to free up cap space, Pritchard would represent great value as a backup point guard who has shown the ability to contribute if given more playing time.
Then again, if Pritchard can be used an asset in a trade to bring back a player like Olynyk, that seems worth pursuing for Brad Stevens and Co. The Celtics should be fully in "win now" mode after falling one game short of a second straight NBA Finals appearance, so any opportunity to make an upgrade should be seized.
