The Boston Celtics know Payton Pritchard's next extension could be tricky. Part of why they traded Jaylen Brown was that Pritchard put up fantastic numbers in their games without Brown last season, so if he thrives in an expanded role, that will undoubtedly factor into his price tag.
The Celtics have every reason to believe Pritchard should be part of their future, and they have the chance to offer him a 140% raise from his current deal (one of the NBA's best bargain contracts). When it's all said and done, they can offer him a three-year extension worth $67 million.
With what Pritchard has done and what he could do this season, that will be seen as a discount. However, Pritchard may not have a choice because Keyonte George's new extension may give Boston the leverage to get Pritchard to sign the deal.
George took a discount to stay in Utah
Yesterday, George signed a five-year, $157.5 million contract extension to stay with the Utah Jazz. He is coming off a breakout season last year, so that's money that he definitely earned. However, George could have very well bet on himself, risen even higher and held out for a bigger deal.
But instead, he took the extension and a contract arguably lesser than what he could have made. George did this not just because of the money, but because he wanted to stay in Utah, so he took an extension where he still got paid a hefty sum to play for the team he wants to play for, but at a discounted price because he and the Jazz want to avoid those pesky tax aprons.
The Celtics may use this for Pritchard, letting him know that they absolutely want to pay him that massive raise, but can't go higher because of the tax aprons and may use George as an example of what those aprons have done (it helps that Ausar Thompson did the same thing even as the Jalen Duren drama has continued in Motown).
There's no telling how Pritchard feels about staying in Boston. As good as things are right now, they definitely weren't always that way with him. Taking that deal where he was paid seven figures annually has got to make him believe the payday he deserves should be as much as possible, which could be a problem for Boston.
But we know Brad Stevens knows what he's doing and uses everything he can to build a contender despite the restrictions the NBA has put on him and everyone else. George's extension could be that first step towards coming to an agreement with Pritchard, even if there may not be one for another year or so.
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