Boston Celtics fans are still trying to wrap their heads around the Jaylen Brown trade that sent him to the Philadelphia 76ers for Paul George and picks. However, new rumors provide a possible reason. According to Yahoo Sports' Tom Haberstroh, the Celtics are especially high on guard Payton Pritchard.
In fact, they believe he could be a star if given more opportunity. He'll have plenty of it with their leading scorer from last season now gone. Still, it's hard to imagine a scenario where Boston doesn't take a step back next season.
But, if they are right about Pritchard, they could be taking one step back and two steps forward.
Payton Pritchard could thrive in a bigger role for the Celtics
The Brown trade ignited discussion around the NBA about his value. Some front offices apparently view him as overrated, and to be fair to them, he has never been an advanced stats darling.
To his credit, Pritchard did average 17 points per game in 32.4 minutes last season. Perhaps it's not crazy to think that he has more left to offer the Celtics. In fact, based on his points per shot (points per game divided by field goal attempts per game), he was surprisingly efficient.
Having him take even just three shots more per game next season would see his scoring jump to nearly 21 points per game. In that case, the Celtics might be onto something, though they definitely still should have gotten more for Brown.
The Celtics are hoping their Jaylen Brown trade gamble pays off
Getting a good player on a bad contract, two firsts, and two seconds simply isn't enough. It's also hard to imagine a team such as the Portland Trail Blazers not being able to offer something better.
If Pritchard is able to make a big offensive leap next season and star Jayson Tatum is fully healthy and back to his normal self, Boston should be a playoff team. Unfortunately, their ceiling is presumably much lower.
After all, the Sixers are suddenly much better, the Miami Heat added Giannis Antetokounmpo, and the Indiana Pacers will have Tyrese Haliburton back. That makes a deep playoff run unlikely.
Despite that, the Celtics are hoping that they can retool on the fly and get back to the level they were with both Brown and Tatum. It's just anyone's guess whether that gamble will pay off or not.
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