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Payton Pritchard will be a member of the Boston Celtics for the foreseeable future. The fourth-year guard and the Celtics agreed to a four-year contract extension worth $30 million, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski on October 7.
Following Wojnarowski’s report of Pritchard’s extension, MassLive’s Brian Robb revealed why the Celtics elected to extend him now instead of waiting until restricted free agency.
“Multiple sources tell MassLive that he has been a standout in team workouts in recent weeks, which made the team eager to lock him up to a long-term deal,” Robb wrote in an October 8 story.
Following all the Celtics’ moves, Pritchard is slated to have a bigger role on the team. With only Jrue Holiday and Derrick White ahead of him on the depth chart, Pritchard will be their third guard. Pritchard has shown that he can play and was better than the role the Celtics gave him during the 2022-23 season. He’ll have the chance to prove that they were right to give him a bigger role and an extension on top of it.
Sam Hauser Says Payton Pritchard Will be ‘Out for Blood’
While talking with reporters on October 7, Sam Hauser singled out Payton Pritchard for his performance thus far during training camp
“I think Payton’s had a great camp. He’s really, really been aggressive. He worked really hard this summer, and I think he’s out for blood this year, so I’m really excited to see what he has to bring to the table this year,” Hauser said, per CLNS Media’s X account.
Hauser is not the only one who noticed Pritchard’s improvement. Svi Mykahiliuk had similar words when asked who stood out to him during the Celtics’ scrimmages.
“As of now, for me, I feel like Payton was really, really good in all of the games, but I would say everybody’s just coming in, working hard, showing their work ethic, and just being here really early to show how important it is to everybody,” Mykhailiuk said on October 3, per CLNS Media Boston Sports Network.
Factoring what his Celtics teammates have said about him and the team extending him before the season started, there is a lot of smoke surrounding Pritchard’s improved play. Even if it will only be a preseason game, Pritchard will get to show fans what he’s made of when the Celtics take on the Philadelphia 76ers on October 8.
Ex-Celtics Gives Thoughts on Payton Pritchard
Multiple former Celtics took to their X accounts to respond to Pritchard’s new deal. Former Celtics champion Kendrick Perkins congratulated Pritchard, saying that Pritchard’s new contract is “well-deserved!!!!”
Former Celtics player and assistant coach Evan Turner applauded the Celtics, saying that by extending Pritchard, they “got him for cheap.”
Turner was an assistant coach during Pritchard’s rookie season with the Celtics, so he got to see up close how good Pritchard was when he started.
It’s clear that some Celtics alumni have been paying attention to Pritchard, which is surprising given that he didn’t play much in his third NBA season. It’s clear that even if the sample size isn’t too big, Pritchard has clearly left an impression.
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