Report: Teams showing interest in benched Boston Celtics guard

The Boston Celtics have been back to their winning ways. They’ve strung together three straight victories, including wins over the Minnesota Timberwolves, Milwaukee Bucks, and Houston Rockets. They’ve got their fans feeling good as Thursday’s rematch against the Los Angeles Clippers approaches. Boston got blown out in the reverse game in LA earlier this month.

Another thing that happened earlier this month was the unofficial start to the NBA’s trade season. After December 15, teams were able to include players who signed contracts before Sept. 15 last summer in trades.

Naturally, that’s going to cause rumors to surface and fans to speculate on which players could be on the move this winter.

Teams are showing interest in a benched Boston Celtics guard

As of Wednesday, the Boston Celtics are sitting on the best record in the NBA at 25-10. They aren’t exactly a team that needs to make a move even after struggling in mid-December. However, one name that has been consistently thrown around this year has been Payton Pritchard.

The 24-year-old hasn’t seen as much opportunity in the 2022-23 season compared to years past. The addition of Malcolm Brogdon has bolstered Boston’s guard depth and glued Pritchard to the end of the bench.

A report from Heavy.com’s Steve Bulpett indicates that there has been interest in the third-year guard from other teams around the association. Bulpett explained:

"“Not surprisingly, Pritchard’s new situation has other teams sniffing around. Clubs have been investigating whether he might be worth pursuing in a trade (he makes $2.2 million this year and $4.0 million next).”"

The Oregon-alumni has appeared in just 21 of Boston’s 35 games this season. His minutes, along with his numbers, have taken a dip compared to last year. Pritchard is scoring just 4.4 points, grabbing 1.3 rebounds, and dishing 1.2 assists in just over 10 minutes per game. His shooting efficiency has fallen off as well. This season’s 40% from the field and 34% from deep are 3% and 6% worse than his respective career averages, respectively.

An NBA personnel man explain his views on Pritchard to Bulpett, saying:

"“I like what I see, but it’s hard to say for sure if he could do more with a better opportunity. And first you have to ask if he’s better than what you have and if he’ll even get more of a look with your team. It’s hard to say, but I know I’m not the only team checking on him. It’s always natural in these situations.”"

Bulpett didn’t specify which teams had inquired about Pritchard, but did indicate that there had been more than one.