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Exploring Potential Payton Pritchard Trades

A lack of playing time has Payton Pritchard pushing for a trade. Here's who or what the Celtics might get if they oblige.

Author:
Bobby Krivitsky
Jun 6, 2023 6:16 PM EDT

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Boston Celtics

At the end of the 2021-22 campaign, coming off a Finals run where he averaged 12.9 minutes per contest in the playoffs, Payton Pritchard stated, "Hopefully, I can carry more of the torch," while speaking about adding to his game and seeking to earn more playing time.

Instead, the addition of Malcolm Brogdon and a foot injury resulted in Pritchard playing 48 games and never cracking the rotation. In his third year in the Association, his minutes were reduced from 14.1 to 13.4 in the regular season.

There were glimmers of what he could contribute. Most notably, when he registered a 30-point, 14-rebound, 11-assist triple-double in the Celtics' win over the Hawks in their regular-season finale, a game where most rotation players on both sides rested for the playoffs.

By doing so, he placed himself in elite company, joining Larry Bird and John Havlicek as the only players in franchise history with a triple-double of at least 30 points, 13 rebounds, and 11 assists.

But a trying season, mostly spent on the bench, had Pritchard questioning his future in Boston and speaking candidly about a preference to get traded to a team where he could contribute more.

The Celtics have to sort out who they intend to move forward with, which could lead to rerouting Brogdon, perhaps making it more enticing for the former Oregon Duck to return to Boston. But the current lack of clarity about how the organization will proceed won't change Pritchard's stance.

With that in mind, here's a look at potential options for the Celtics if the two sides part ways.

A First-Round Pick

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Boston has the 35th selection in the 2023 draft. But rather than going a third-straight year without adding a first-round pick, perhaps packaging Pritchard and 35 vaults them into Round 1.

Xavier Tillman

USATSI_20559589 — Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

An option this author explored last summer was swapping Pritchard for Xavier Tillman.

The latter would shore up the Celtics' depth up front, and he reinforced this postseason he can contribute in the playoffs. The Grizzlies losing Steven Adams and Brandon Clarke to injuries thrust Tillman into the starting lineup for their six-game series with the Lakers.

The former Michigan State Spartan responded by generating 8.7 points, eight rebounds, 3.2 assists, and nearly a block per contest.

He's savvy, more versatile than one would expect of someone with a burly six-foot-eight, 245-pound build, and only 24.

Jalen Smith

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Jalen Smith is someone Boston expressed interest in leading up to the 2022 trade deadline. The tenth overall pick in Pritchard's draft class (2020) is coming off a campaign where he averaged 9.4 points, 5.8 rebounds, and nearly a block per game in 18.8 minutes.

For Indiana, it's a chance to add a competitive on-ball defender who can play with and without the rock at the other end and showed himself well in the 2022 playoffs.

If the Pacers view this as a deal worth making, the salaries allow for a one-for-one swap, with Pritchard on the books for just over $4 million next season and Smith earning slightly north of $5 million.

Saddiq Bey

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File it under unlikely. But Quin Snyder had a front-row seat for Pritchard's triple-double in the regular-season finale. Atlanta has a pair of young wings it wants to develop in A.J. Griffin and Jalen Johnson, and even if Trae Young and Dejounte Murray get a second year together in the Peach State, the Hawks lack depth at point guard behind them.

It's worth seeing if Pritchard and the 35th pick can bring Saddiq Bey to Boston, even if the expectation is Atlanta says no.

Jarred Vanderbilt

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It's spicy, improbable, and imperfect.

The Celtics and Lakers probably aren't trading with each other. That might sound silly, but it is what it is and is unlikely to change this summer.

None of the guards from Los Angeles' playoff rotation are under contract for next season, so perhaps Pritchard peaks the purple and gold's interest.

But as talented and versatile a defender as Jarred Vanderbilt is, and he's also a quality facilitator, his lack of shooting and inability to provide a boost offensively cut into his playing time in the postseason. He logged less than 17 minutes in each of the Lakers' last seven playoff matchups, including staying glued to the bench the night the Nuggets completed their four-game sweep of LA.

Given that Vanderbilt's never averaged more than 1.3 three-point attempts in a season, he doesn't mesh with Joe Mazzulla's offensive philosophy, so if he gets rerouted, it's doubtful it's to Boston.

Cody Martin

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Cody Martin only played in seven games this season due to injury. But believe it or not, he was long considered better than his twin brother Caleb, who torched the Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals, generating 19.3 points on 60 percent shooting, including converting his 6.4 three-point attempts at a 48.9 percent clip.

The former, who the Hornets kept while allowing the latter to take his talents to South Beach, is under contract for slightly over $7.5 million for 2023-24 and $8.1 million for the 2024-25 campaign. The last year of his deal, 2025-26, is non-guaranteed for $8.7 million.

In 2021-22, Martin manufactured 7.7 points, four rebounds, and 1.2 steals per game. He's yet to prove himself from three-point range but knocked down 38.4 percent of his 2.2 long-range attempts that season.

Nick Richards