When the Jaylen Brown trade went down, among the first rationales for it is that the Boston Celtics could compensate for Brown's departure should Payton Pritchard evolve into their own version of Jalen Brunson. Expect this narrative to run rampant for the rest of the summer.
Let's just rip the bandaid off now. That is an insane bar for Pritchard to clear. Brunson is not only the best player on the reigning champions, but he is a franchise player. Pritchard has been awesome in Boston, but for him to reach Brunson's level, he'll have to show the most he's ever shown in a Celtics uniform.
But there is reason to believe there is a nonzero chance this could happen: Pritchard's career arc has a lot of similarities to Brunson. You know, before Brunson broke out in New York
Both were picked around the middle of their respective drafts - Brunson was picked early in the second round of the 2018 NBA Draft while Pritchard was picked late in the first round of the 2020 NBA Draft - and both quickly proved themselves out of the gate.
Full trust from their teams wasn't immediate, but in a few years' time, both of them proved how useful they could be. Dallas and Boston gradually entrusted Brunson and Pritchard respectively more and more, and they proved them right every time their role got bigger.
We all know Pritchard's role in both Boston's NBA Finals run in 2022 and Banner 18, but not many know Brunson had a lot to do with Dallas' improbable run to the Western Conference Finals in 2022.
So much so that it's a shame from a basketball perspective that we never got to see what the duo of Brunson and Luka Doncic could have done. Maybe we'll get our answer to that with Pritchard and Jayson Tatum.
Pritchard doesn't have to be Brunson, but must prove Boston is right to trust him
For the record, it would be awesome if Pritchard really elevates himself into Boston's Brunson, one of the NBA's best scorers and guards of his very era. However, he doesn't necessarily have to do that. He just has to prove that the Celtics are right to believe in him.
Again, every time they have asked Pritchard to do more, he has done it. Every time they have assigned him his role, he's accepted it. It hasn't always been peachy, but Pritchard has been an awesome Celtic, and now he gets to show just how of an individual ceiling he has as Tatum's second-in-command as a scorer.
If there's one thing we know about Fast PP, it's that the challenge has never fazed him. It hasn't just been his talent that's got him here, but his mindset too.
Just note that Pritchard isn't expected only to have a Brunson-esque leap in a bigger role, but is also expected to fill in the void left by Brown, a five-time All-Star, two-time All-NBA recipient, Eastern Conference Finals MVP, and NBA Finals MVP.
No pressure or anything there, Payton.
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