If the Boston Celtics are forced into another tough roster call, the Chicago Bulls ought to be ready to pounce.
That’s the setup around Payton Pritchard, whose next contract could become part of Boston’s next round of financial trimming. After the Celtics traded Jaylen Brown to the Philadelphia 76ers for Paul George, their 2026-27 cap sheet is projected to sit $1.7 million under the NBA luxury tax and $10.3 million below the first apron salary cap threshold. In other words, there’s not much room for error, and not much room for sentiment either.
Pritchard becomes extension-eligible on Oct 1, 2026, according to Spotrac. If Boston decides his next deal doesn’t fit the long-term plan, Chicago should be waiting with a trade offer and a new contract of its own.
That would not be a move about Josh Giddey’s role with the Bulls. It would be about the guard next to him. More specifically, it would be about 33-year-old Norman Powell, whose time in Chicago may not even last through the 2026-27 regular season.
Pritchard, 29, would bring more than just another name to the rotation. Like Powell, he has a championship ring, and that matters in a locker room. He has also become a legitimate starting guard, starting 50 games as Boston’s lead guard in the 2025-26 season.
The basketball fit is where this gets interesting. Giddey has taken real steps as a shooter since arriving in Chicago in the 2024 NBA offseason, hitting 37.1% of his threes on 4.5 attempts per game across his two Bulls seasons.
But the detail that matters most is how those makes have come. Most of Giddey’s made threes have been assisted, which means he needs a partner who can help set the table rather than one who only thrives on self-created looks.
That’s where Pritchard makes sense. He’s a career 39.4% three-point shooter on 5.2 attempts per game, and he’d give Giddey a clean backcourt complement who can help bump up his catch-and-shoot volume. If Powell is moved by the 2027 NBA Trade Deadline, the Bulls could use Pritchard alongside Giddey to push that partnership into a new lane: Giddey as a combo guard.
There’s also comfort in the role-sharing piece. Pritchard already handled that kind of arrangement in Boston, starting 46 of his 50 games in the 2025-26 season alongside Derrick White, with the two often trading lead-guard duties.
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