To put it mildly, the Boston Celtics’ guard situation this season is looking extremely different. Only Derrick White remains of Boston’s most notable backcourt rotation players.
Marcus Smart and Malcolm Brogdon were both traded away this summer, giving Payton Pritchard the opportunity to move up the depth chart behind Jrue Holiday and White. Even though he performed admirably each time he was given a genuine opportunity last year, he found himself amassing DNPs like it was nobody’s business.
Well, it seems like he may be interested in sticking around for a bit in the increased role. According to The Athletic’s Jared Weiss, Pritchard has begun contract extension talks with the Celtics, but the two sides have a “gap to close” in the negotiations.
“The Celtics have opened extension talks with Pritchard but still have a gap to close to reach an agreement, according to sources briefed on the negotiations,” Weiss wrote.
Aren’t the Boston Celtics-Payton Pritchard extension discussions intriguing?
It’s a little unexpected that Pritchard and Boston were talking about an extension, according to Weiss. It was all the rage just four months ago that the 25-year-old wanted to be traded in order to gain more playing time with the Celtics.
Now, he’s looking to ink a new deal to spend some extra years in Boston.
It would be a bit more fun if the two sides weren’t so far apart on the terms of the extension, but I suppose that’s part of the negotiation process.
Pritchard would be a great rotational piece for the Cs to keep around on the right deal. For his career, he’s shot over 40% from beyond the arc, and again, has stepped up in just about every instance where he’s been asked to do so.
Playing behind three elite guards in Smart, White, and Brogdon last season, he was simply the unlucky victim of some awful circumstances.
