Boston Celtics: 3 essential role players Cs shouldn’t deal away

Boston Celtics role player they shouldn’t deal #2: Payton Pritchard

Payton Pritchard of the Pac-12 from a season ago has become a must-keep entity in Boston very quickly. Clutch moments, a memorable and likable personality, and damn good shooting from a rookie make Pritchard indispensable…or at least it should.

Not to go there, but Danny Ainge has traded undersized fan-favorite floor generals before. While the six-foot-one Pritchard is nowhere near the underdog Isaiah Thomas was during his Cs tenure, both qualify as small point guards in today’s day and age.

Pritchard’s trade value is sky-high at the moment, and he may be the key to the team making a superstar acquisition. Though he was a late first-round pick just a few months ago, he has more value on the trade market than his fellow Celtics 2020 first-round draft mate, lottery pick Aaron Nesmith.

That said, there is absolutely no need to upset Boston sports fans, with both 2020 and 2021 bringing great pain in the form of a LeBron James/Los Angeles Lakers NBA title win and a Tom Brady Super Bowl win with a franchise not named the New England Patriots.

Ainge would have fans calling for his resignation if Pritchard was sent away in a deal for anything less than one of the league’s premier superstars.

The Kawhi Leonard and Anthony Davis ships have sailed long ago, though. Pritchard needs to stay in green and white for the foreseeable future.