Boston Celtics player No. 2) Payton Pritchard
Would the departure of Payton Pritchard sting? Absolutely!
However, if the Boston Celtics wish to move up into the first round of the 2022 NBA Draft, they’re going to have to be willing to make some gut-punch moves, and losing the young point guard could prove to be one of them.
At this point in the draft, we’ll be seeing teams that, for the most part, found themselves having a solid 2021-22 campaign and who are looking to capitalize on their momentum heading into next year.
The only way many of these ball clubs would be willing to part ways with their draft picks would be if they were able to gain an asset that could, in theory, help them win ball games right from the jump come next season.
Pritchard is someone who could be viewed as being such a commodity.
Throughout his two-year stint in the association, the point guard has proven himself to be quite the energizer bunny type of talent off the bench, boasting impressive averages of 15.5 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 4.2 assists per 75 possessions on 41 percent shooting from deep.
Even under the bright lights of this year’s postseason, Pritchard was an absolute menace for opposing teams to try and handle when given 15 or more minutes of action, averaging 12 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 2.7 assists on 52 percent shooting from the floor and 43 percent shooting from deep while also single-handily turning around games with his stellar production.
Again, it truly pains us to discuss the idea of the Boston Celtics shopping the 24-year-old after how impressive he’s been for the team during his two-year stint thus far but, considering the fact that they appeared determined to give the bulk of backup backcourt minutes to Derrick White during the postseason and the latter stages of the regular season, coupled with the idea that they could be inclined to look for more point guard assets this summer, the concept of seeing Pritchard shopped in exchange for a first-round pick seems disturbingly realistic.