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Sensible offseason return floated for Boston Celtics guard after trade demand

By Andrew Hughes

Inside the Jazz' Jared Koch floated a sensible offseason return for a Boston Celtics guard who demanded a trade from the franchise Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports
Inside the Jazz' Jared Koch floated a sensible offseason return for a Boston Celtics guard who demanded a trade from the franchise Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports /
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It is apparent once again that Payton Pritchard wants a trade away from the Boston Celtics franchise — with The Athletic’s Jay King and Jared Weiss (subscription required) reporting that the Oregon product “has made it clear he hopes to be traded this summer.”

With his comments during the middle of a season in which Boston looked poise to contend potentially serving as a means to be moved, Pritchard’s small salary makes him a potential fit with all 29 other teams. Inside the Jazz’ Jared Koch came up with the idea to reunite Pritchard with the man that drafted him, Danny Ainge, who is now president of the Jazz organization.

“Utah is looking at important guards Jordan Clarkson and Talen Horton-Tucker facing player options this summer, so investing in a low-risk option at the position could be a wise move from Danny Ainge,” Koch prefaced before saying, “Considering Ainge was also a part of the Boston front office that drafted (Pritchard) in 2020, some lingering intrigue could entice the Jazz to make a move.”

Utah has 2 trade options that would make sense in a Payton Pritchard trade with the Boston Celtics

Ainge is in the position to gain additional draft capital and take chances on low-cost, low-risk guards as the Jazz enters the second year of their rebuild. Pritchard makes sense as a trade target in that regard, but also because Utah has two wings — which is a position of need for a guard-heavy Boston Celtics roster — who can be offered in a potential swap due to owning a slightly lower salary than the guard.

The first is Simone Fontecchio. A native of Italy, Fontecchio is your typical Ainge undrafted free agent from overseas to bolster the team’s depth chart. Once upon a time, Daniel Theis and Vincent Poirier were brought on in similar fashions. While his shooting leaves a bit to be desired, Fontecchio has good size (six-foot-eight) on the wing.

The more desirable option would be Ochai Agbaji, who showed plenty of promise during his rookie season after being included in the Donovan Mitchell trade with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Shooting a 42.7/35.5/81 slash and eventually moving into a starting role, Agbaji showed promise as a rotation wing who could one day develop into more.

Ainge and his former protege Stevens owe each other a call this offseason to discuss these scenarios.

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