The Boston Celtics have one of the league’s best-value players in Payton Pritchard. The sharpshooting guard has two years remaining on his current contract, which will pay him an average of $8 million per season.
Pritchard has already proven that he’s worth considerably more. He’s emerged as one of the best perimeter scoring guards in the league, and is only one season removed from being crowned as Sixth Man of the Year.
There’s no doubt that Pritchard is one of the best bench players in the league, especially for his position.
With that in mind, Frank Urbina of HoopsHype has ranked Pritchard as the 21st-best guard in the NBA ahead of the upcoming season.
“Pritchard is one year removed from winning Sixth Man of the Year, and followed that up by putting up a career-high 17.0 points per game last season on 46.4 percent shooting from the floor, which also saw him start a career-high 50 games,” Urbina wrote. “…Pritchard is both quick and strong, and has bombastic shooting range from deep beyond the arc. He can also get hot at a moment’s notice, making him quite an entertaining lead guard to watch.”
Ranking Pritchard just outside of the top-20 for his position is further proof of his incredibly valuable team-friendly deal.
Pritchard Will Become Extension-Eligible Soon
Pritchard’s recent play will certainly give the Celtics reason to offer him a contract extension in the coming months. The sharpshooting guard will become extension-eligible on October 1.
The Celtics can offer him up to $100 million over four years, which works out to $25 million average annual value. Of course, there’s no guarantee the Celtics would look to reach that $100 million ceiling.
Still, whatever Pritchard and Boston do agree to will represent a sizeable pay increase for the Oregon product. Furthermore, it would ensure Pritchard remains with the Celtics throughout the majority of his prime.
It’s worth noting that any extension Pritchard signs won’t kick in until 2028, as there is no player or team option on his current contract.
Celtics Expected To Extend Payton Pritchard
According to a member of Boston’s front office, who spoke with Spotrac’s Keith Smith at the Las Vegas Summer League, it’s likely that the Celtics begin extension negotiations with Pritchard and lock him down for the long-term.
“That’s probably next up. We’ve more or less done our offseason moves. Maybe something comes up that isn’t out there now, but we’re filling out the roster now vs. doing anything big,” the Celtics front office executive said. “Payton is an important player for us. On those nights when we need a little juice, he’s already there. And he’s proven he can play a big role on a title team. We have to manage the cap and tax, but keeping Payton around is something we hope to do.”
Pritchard has become a key piece of Joe Mazzulla’s rotation in recent years. It’s hard to envision Brad Stevens moving on from him. Therefore, we shouldn’t be surprised when the news of Pritchard’s extension eventually hits our collective social media timelines.
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