It’s a transformative year for the Celtics. Boston is officially Jayson Tatum’s team, there’s no question about it. Just ahead of the season, though, Brad Stevens locked down Payton Pritchard on a contract extension that ties the 28-year-old guard to the franchise for as long as Tatum.
On Tuesday, Pritchard agreed to a two-year, $44.2 million extension which contains a mutual option for the 2029-30 season, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania. He had a career year last season with 17.0 points and 5.2 assists per game. Always a sharpshooter, Pritchard knocked down 37.7% of his 6.7 three-point attempts per game—more than double his previous career-high in volume.
Pritchard started 50 games last season. The great majority of his starts came before the All-Star break as he was shifted to back to his signature role as an offensive spark plug off the bench in early February. Boston blew a 3–1 lead to the 76ers in the first round and he came off the bench in all seven games.
Without Jaylen Brown this year after the offseason blockbuster that sent Tatum’s longtime running mate to Philadelphia, Boston’s first five remains a bit fluid to start the year. Tatum, Derrick White and Paul George, who arrived through the Brown trade, are marked in pen. Big man Neemias Queta is presumably the starting center after he had a career season which led to a long-term extension over the summer, too. Joe Mazzulla could go with Mitchell Robinson, but he was great as a reserve for the Knicks and Queta thrived in the first five.
That leaves one spot. Pritchard is the most likely option, but Mazzulla could go with Baylor Scheierman, Jordan Walsh, Sam Hauser or even Hugo González for more size. Admittedly, Mazzulla doesn’t put too much stake in his starting group because it’s fluid throughout the year, whether that’s due to injuries or game plans.
"I don't spend a ton of time on that because I just know it's going to change," he said earlier this month. "Obviously, I would probably say three out of five, or four out of five are etched in stone and you're just looking to see from there."
Mazzulla will likely play with some different looks with his retooled roster. However, Pritchard’s extension is a big commitment to a key player from the 2024 title team and the '25 Sixth Man of the Year. Without Brown, the Celtics need ballhandling and scoring. They may get enough from George and White to make Pritchard most impactful off the bench. Pritchard was Boston’s second-best scorer before Tatum returned from injury last season, though, and he deserves an opportunity as the team’s long-term No. 2.
Why Payton Pritchard should start for the new-look Celtics
Boston loses Brown’s 28.7 points per game this season, a gap that will quickly get filled by a full season of Tatum. Elsewhere, White should still add somewhere around 15 points a night on top of everything he brings on defense. He had a down year shooting the ball last year, but he’s been a good enough three-point shooter over his career to quiet those concerns.
George was good last season, but he played just 37 games due to a knee injury and a 25-game suspension for violating the league’s anti-drug policy by taking an improper medication. If healthy, which is a big if, that trio with a player like Scheierman spacing the floor could be more than enough offensively. The benefit of bringing Pritchard off the bench is keeping him in a role where he’s been so good in the past. Ballhandling is needed in the second unit, too, and Pritchard is far and away the best creator who could start the game on the bench.
No matter where Mazzulla lands, Pritchard will play starter minutes. He played more than any Celtic other than Brown and White last year and about the same as Tatum in an injury-shortened season.
Boston was good both with and without Pritchard in the starting lineup last year. There’s a case for both options, but keeping him on the bench would feel shortsighted. Stevens just paid him the most he could in the first year of the extension, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks, and he’ll make $21.2 million in 2028-29. That’s starter money. Additionally, he joins Tatum and Queta as the only Celtics under contract through the end of the decade.
This is Tatum’s team, but Pritchard is just as critical to Boston’s success over the next few seasons in this new iteration of the team. At 6'1", there are size concerns; putting him in the starting group may put too much on Tatum and George defensively. The risk seems well worth the reward, though, as Pritchard is currently the only Celtic with long-term All-Star potential aside from Tatum.
He’s gotten better year after year over his six NBA seasons. Last season, he had half of a season to prove he can be a high-level second or third option. He answered that call and, now, the next step is to become the true Robin to Tatum’s Batman. If you’re concerned about the ballhandling off the bench, Mazzulla can stagger minutes to keep one of them on the floor. Most of all, Pritchard has earned this opportunity. His path to a bigger offensive workload was clear last year with Tatum’s injury, this year brings the same chances with Brown’s departure.
Pritchard’s long-term extension after he continuously outperformed his contract value speaks volumes on how highly his franchise thinks of him. Now, Mazzulla just has to let him run free.
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