Celtics Guard Inks New Deal

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        Payton Pritchard has been quite the story for the Boston Celtics so far in his young NBA career. He was the 26th overall pick back in the 2020 NBA draft. In his first three years in the league Pritchard has shown some offensive flashes especially with his shooting ability. However this past season Pritchard was in and out of the rotation, playing in just 48 games, which resulted in him requesting a trade however Boston did not necessarily entertain the idea. Pritchard clearly wants a consistent role in the Celtics' rotation and he may get that opportunity given all the moves the Celtics made this offseason and just recently was announced he has a signed a 4-year, $30 million contract extension with the Boston Celtics. 




        Pritchard did not see much playing time this past season given the elite guards ahead of him such as Marcus Smart, Derrick White and Malcolm Brogdon. Averaging just 13 minutes a game in the 48 games he appeared in during the regular season. However this offseason, with the departures of Marcus Smart who is now in Memphis and Malcolm Brogdon who is now in Portland, there appears to be a big opportunity for Pritchard to not only get a consistent role in the rotation but even have his minutes bumped up. This past season on April 9th, 2023 Pritchard had a huge game going for 30 points, 10-21 from the field (48%), 9-16 from 3 (56%), 14 rebounds and 11 assists against the Atlanta Hawks. This game recorded his first NBA career triple-double which shows the Celtics they can rely on him within their offense. 



        In Pritchard's media day press conference he mentioned how he and his teammates will miss the players who were traded because of the relationships that were built but also mentioned how exciting it will be to step up and impact winning. Pritchard also mentioned how tough it was to be pushed out the rotation last season when the Celtics acquired Malcolm Brogdon but says that he has matured after not getting much playing time. Fast forward to October 8th, 2023 the Celtics had their first preseason game against the Philadelphia 76ers and Pritchard had another explosive offensive game. Going for 26 points, 9-14 from the field (64%), 6-11 from 3 (55%), 2 rebounds, 4 assists and 1 steal. Pritchard has so much potential especially on the offensive side so expect him to have some big shooting nights this upcoming season. 





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