According to MassLive’s Brian Robb, trading Payton Pritchard for a backup center might be a ‘sound way to balance out the roster.’ With that being said, Robb admits in his latest Boston Celtics Mailbag, in answering a reader’s question about whether or not the Oregon product is better off elsewhere, that President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens may be ‘adamant about wanting to add to this core without subtracting,’ limiting the likelihood of a Pritchard deal this offseason.
Still, a plugged-in source like Robb could be onto something, especially considering the current need for a big man behind Al Horford and Robert Williams. The pair was ultra-effective this past season in a double-big lineup, contributing to the best net rating–which was 12 points/100 possessions better than the second-best team–and the best defensive rating, while also ranking third in offensive rating per NBC Sports Boston’s Max Lederman, but there is a clear need at the 5 given the inclusion of Daniel Theis in the Malcolm Brogdon deal. There will be back-to-backs where Horford will need to sit to preserve his body for the long run of an NBA postseason, and the ‘Time Lord’ will more than likely miss a few games given his physical style of play.
Scanning the league right now, the most obvious trade partner in any Pritchard deal would be the Utah Jazz. The Jazz could afford taking on another draft pick, and can pretty much dictate what types of players will return in a Donovan Mitchell trade, so taking on Pritchard for either rookie Walker Kessler or third-year man Udoka Azubuike along with a pick would be the best way to continue a rebuild that was kickstarted with the Rudy Gobert trade to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Elsewhere, the Charlotte Hornets intrigue as a team that Bleacher Report’s Greg Swartz believes needs a backup point guard. The Houdini has pitched a Pritchard-Grant Williams plus picks package to reel in P.J. Washington before and once again endorses that notion.
The Boston Celtics are more likely to trade Malcolm Brogdon than Payton Pritchard
Malcolm Brogdon has been mentioned in the same breath of a Kevin Durant trade before, even being linked to a potential 2023 NBA trade deadline transaction by CBS Sports’ Michael Kaskey-Blomain within hours of landing with the Cs.
If a member of the backcourt is set to go next, a possibility Robb mentions as earlier in that Boston Celtics Mailbag, it’ll more likely be Brogdon on an expiring contract than Pritchard — who’s under team control for the next six years if the front office wants him to be.
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