It was just a few seasons ago that Payton Pritchard put in a request to be traded away from the team that drafted him out of Oregon 26th overall in the 2020 NBA Draft. But now Pritchard finds himself a major part of Boston's rotation with a two-year, $44.2 million contract extension that has a mutual option for the 2029-30 NBA regular season.
The West Linn, Oregon native opened up about his journey to this point in his career from that moment he requested a trade after a recent Celtics practice. "At the time, I wasn't playing (…)," said Pritchard via CLNS Media. "It's a little part of delusional confidence that I have, but it's from my work and all the hours I put in. I believed that I could help this team win at a high level. Now, many people didn't believe in it at the time or thought I was crazy, but I truly believed that."
"And things opened up for me and it worked out," he added. "So I took advantage of it, and hopefully I continue to take advantage of it."
"It's a long journey," said Pritchard. It's been my whole basketball career from high school, college, all that … you go through so many ups and downs. You've just got to keep going every day and just trying to get better and better."
"You just don't know how far you can take it. And I think it shows that I think I'm on the right path and continuing my work ethic and my journey and (to) see how far I can take it."
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This article originally appeared on Celtics Wire: Payton Pritchard on path from trade request to contract extension with Boston Celtics