Payton Pritchard’s contract has become one of the cleanest counterweights Boston has to Paul George’s hefty price tag.
George may fit the Celtics’ vision on paper, but the money attached to him tells a different story. He’s set to make $54.1 million this season and $56.6 million next season if he opts in, and the source of the sticker shock is obvious: Boston is paying him for the version of himself he used to be, not necessarily the one he is now. That comes with age and an injury history, which makes the deal easier to criticize even if he’s still a useful player.
What softens that blow is Pritchard, who is giving Boston far more than his contract suggests. While George is earning superstar money, Pritchard will make $7.8 million this season and $8.3 million the next. The gap is enormous, and the Celtics have gotten real value out of every step of Pritchard’s rise.
Since Boston extended him, Pritchard has kept leveling up. In the first year of the deal, he moved from the stay-ready group into a steady rotation role during the run to Banner 18. The following season, Boston leaned on him more to help conserve Jrue Holiday, and he answered with a breakout stretch: 14.3 points per game on .472/.407/.845 shooting splits, plus the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year award.
Then came an even bigger workload after Jayson Tatum went down, and Pritchard responded again. He finished with career highs of 17.0 points and 5.2 assists per game, along with .464/.377/.890 shooting splits, showing he could handle more than many expected.
That kind of production for a player making seven figures is exactly the sort of bargain that changes how a roster is viewed. And with Jaylen Brown no longer on the team, Pritchard’s role could grow even more. He is likely to take the starting job for good this season, which would give Boston its biggest return yet on a deal that has already been a steal.
In that sense, Pritchard’s contract doesn’t just stand on its own. It helps make George’s expensive deal a little easier for the Celtics to swallow.
In Other News...
Payton Pritchards Jaylen Brown Reaction Says A Lot About Bostons Next Step
Payton Pritchard did not spend much time dwelling on Jaylen Browns move to Philadelphia, at least not publicly. Speaking after the trade, the Celtics guard framed it the way players often do when the business side of the league lands hardest: as part of the job, and as another chance to absorb what a teammate like Brown taught him along the way. Pritchard also said the teams group chat has not turned into a postmortem on the deal, which is usually a sign that the roster is already shifting its attention to the next phase.
That next phase arrives quickly, with Boston set to open preseason against the Cavaliers on Oct. 8 before hosting the 76ers two days later. Pritchards focus on his own game fits the moment, because the Celtics are about to find out what their new shape looks like in real time, and one of the first chances to measure it will come against Brown in a Philadelphia uniform. The early days of camp and preseason tend to reveal what a team is ready to say out loud and what it is still sorting through quietly. [Read more 🡒]
Payton Pritchards Celtics Reaction Says Plenty About Bostons New Reality
Chris Cenacs arrival at No. 27 gave the Celtics another young piece to think about, and his college coach, Kelvin Sampson, made the fit sound pretty straightforward. Boston also has a lot more going on around the edges of the roster, with owner Bill Chisholm saying there are no immediate plans for a new arena and veteran point guard Mike Conley already sounding energized about landing in the mix.
Still, the clearest window into where things stand may have come from Payton Pritchard, whose reaction to Jaylen Browns move to Philadelphia said plenty about how different this version of the Celtics feels. Between a fresh draft pick, a veteran addition, and the franchises long-term building questions, Boston is entering a stretch where almost every comment seems to hint at a bigger reset still taking shape. [Read more 🡒]
Payton Pritchard Could Gain Something Huge From Mike Conley
Payton Pritchard has already grown into an important part of Bostons rotation, but the Celtics summer moves suggest there is still room for him to sharpen the finer points of running an offense. After trading Jaylen Brown, the front office went into the offseason looking to build a better support system around Jayson Tatum and Paul George, and the addition of Mike Conley Jr. fits neatly into that plan. Conley brings the kind of veteran steadiness and point guard know-how that can help a player like Pritchard keep expanding his game.
For Boston, this is about more than just filling out the depth chart. Conley is expected to provide leadership and mentorship to younger players, and Pritchard stands out as one of the clearest beneficiaries because of how much he can still absorb about the position. The Celtics do not need him to become a different player, but if Conley can help him see the floor a little better and manage the offense with more control, that is the sort of quiet upgrade that can matter once the games get tight. [Read more 🡒]