Celtics extend Payton Pritchard ahead of 2023-2024 season

Author Alex Barth

October 8th, 2023 2:01 PM

It’s been a busy offseason for Brad Stevens and the Boston Celtics’ front office. Stevens even had one more move up his sleeve before the team’s preseason opener on Sunday night.

According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojarowski, the Celtics and point guard Payton Pritchard have agreed to a four-year, $30 million contract extension. Prior to the extension, Pritchard was set to become a free agent at the end of the season with the expiration of his rookie contract.

READ MORE:

—Meet the Celtics 2023 training camp roster
—Joe Mazzulla’s focus on the past should help the Celtics in the present
—Mazz: The Celtics are loaded

Pritchard, 25, was drafted 26th overall by the Celtics in 2020. He’s appeared in 185 games in three years making nine starts. Last year saw his role diminish as he played a career-low 48 games. In 13.4  minutes per game, Pritchard averaged 5.6 points per game while shooting 41.2 percent from the floor and 36.4 percent from three.

This season, Pritchard figures to be the third point guard again behind Derrick White and Jrue Holiday. His minutes still should increase this year with the departures of Malcolm Brogdon and Marcus Smart.

With this extension, Pritchard is now signed through the 2027-2028 season. Only Jaylen Brown, with his recent supermax extension, is signed for longer (Brown is under contract through the 2028-2029 season).

Alex Barth is a writer and digital producer for 985TheSportsHub.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. Thoughts? Comments? Questions? Looking for a podcast guest? Let him know on Twitter @RealAlexBarth or via email at [email protected].

Celtics unveil 2023 training camp roster

• Dalano Banton

  

  CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – NOVEMBER 07: Dalano Banton #45 of the Toronto Raptors dribbles against the Chicago Bulls during the first half at United Center on November 07, 2022 in Chicago, Illinois. (Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

• An oversized point guard at 6-foot-7, the almost 24-year-old Banton is coming to Boston after spending the last two seasons with Toronto.

  On the court for 95 appearances over a two-season run with the Raptors, Banton comes to the Celtics with career averages of 3.7 points, 1.4 assists, and 1.8 rebounds per game, while averaging 10:16 per night, and shooting 41.6 percent from the field and 27.5 percent from three-point range.

  And though he’s new to the Celtics, the Canadian-born Banton is not new to the area, as he played his high school basketball in Massachusetts at Redemption Christian Academy in Northfield and the MacDuffie School in Granby.

• Oshae Brissett

  

  Jan 29, 2023; Memphis, Tennessee, USA; Indiana Pacers forward Oshae Brissett (12) reacts after a three point basket during the first half against the Memphis Grizzlies at FedExForum. (Petre Thomas-USA TODAY Sports)

• A veteran of four NBA seasons between the Raptors and Pacers, the 6-foot-7 Brissett is reporting to Boston after spending the last three seasons with Indiana.

  Indiana was pretty kind to the Canadian wing, all things considered, as he averaged a career-high 10.9 points per game and 48.3 field goal percentage in 21 games with the Pacers in 2020-21 before posting back-to-back seasons of at least 65 games played the last two seasons.

  Brissett, who played his college basketball at Syracuse, has appeared in 172 NBA games in his career, and totaled 1,277 points and collected 717 rebounds over that span.

• Jaylen Brown

  

  MIAMI, FLORIDA – MAY 27: Jaylen Brown #7 of the Boston Celtics looks on against the Miami Heat during the first quarter in game six of the Eastern Conference Finals at Kaseya Center on May 27, 2023 in Miami, Florida. (Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)

• The long-term partnership between Jaylen Brown and the Celtics became official this past summer when the sides agreed to a supermax contract extension that makes Brown the highest paid player in league history.

  The Celtics’ belief in Brown was only further reinforced by the Celtics paying him and not including him in any sort of trade rumors or trade talks in an offseason that saw the Celtics linked to top-tier talent, with no name bigger than that of Blazer-turned-Buck point guard Damian Lillard.

  Now comes Brown and Tatum coming together as proving to be the one-two punch that the Celtics need them to be to deliver Boston their first NBA championship since 2008.

  Brown was the Celtics’ best player in the 2022 NBA Finals when the team came up short against the Warriors, and had some strong efforts during Boston’s 2023 run, but was downright disastrous when the Celtics needed him most in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals.

• J.D. Davison

  

  Jul 9, 2022; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Boston Celtics guard JD Davison (20) dribbles ahead of Miami Heat guard Kyle Allman Jr. (50) during an NBA Summer League game at Cox Pavilion. (Stephen R. Sylvanie/USA TODAY Sports)

• One of three players on two-way deals currently on the camp roster, J.D. Davison, who was drafted by the Celtics with the No. 53 overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, will return for another season with the club. 

  Summoned into action for 12 games with the Celtics last season, Davison averaged 1.6 points and 0.9 assists in 5.5 minutes per game. Total-wise, which seems much more appropriate given Davison’s usage, Davison totaled 19 points on 8-for-19 shooting (with makes on two of his seven tries from deep), dished out 11 assists, and collected nine rebounds in 66 minutes of NBA action. The 6-foot-1 Davison made his greatest NBA impact in Boston’s regular-season finale on Apr. 9 against Atlanta, with season-high marks in points (eight), made field goals (three), rebounds (three), assists (three), and blocks (two).

  When not in Boston last season, Davison was a standout for G-League Maine, with 13.2 points, 4.5 rebounds, 7.7 assists, and 0.8 steals per game over a 44-game run. Davison also finished fourth in the NBA G League during the regular season, with 339 assists, which is the second-most assists in a single season by a Maine player, trailing only Tim Frazier (2014-15).

• Sam Hauser

  

  Apr 9, 2023; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Atlanta Hawks guard Tyrese Martin (22) defends Boston Celtics forward Sam Hauser (30) during the second half at TD Garden. (Bob DeChiara/USA TODAY Sports)

• The 6-foot-7 Hauser experienced what was a definite breakout in 2022-23, with career-highs in points (6.4), assists (0.9), rebounds (2.6), and minutes (16:08) per game in 80 appearances.

  The Celtics will need more of Hauser’s off-the-bench sharpshooting to come to the table in 2023-24, too, and it would appear that Hauser is well-equipped to do that, with a 42 percent success rate from deep throughout his 106-game NBA career.

• Jrue Holiday

  

  MIAMI, FLORIDA – APRIL 22: Jrue Holiday #21 of the Milwaukee Bucks dribbles the ball against Duncan Robinson #55 of the Miami Heat during the fourth quarter in Game Three of the Eastern Conference First Round Playoffs at Kaseya Center on April 22, 2023 in Miami, Florida. (Megan Briggs/Getty Images)

• The newest Celtic added to the fold, Jrue Holiday actually beat Brad Stevens to the gym on Monday morning.

  Acquired from Portland in exchange for Robert Williams, Malcolm Brogdon, and two future first-round picks, Holiday is coming to the Celtics to by all means bring the defensive acumen and intensity that the Celtics lost when they shipped Marcus Smart out of town in the trade that brought Kristaps Porzingis to Boston.

  Holiday, who turns 34 next June, is coming off a 2022-23 season that saw him average 19.3 points per game (the second-highest single-season average of his career and best since 2018-19) and shoot 47.9 field goal percentage (38.4 percent from deep) in 67 games played.

  Holiday also made his second career All-Star appearance in 2023, and was named to an All-Defensive Team for the fifth time in his career, with 2023 featuring Holiday’s third First Team nod on that front.

• Al Horford

  

  Al Horford of the Boston Celtics dribbles against the Phoenix Suns at TD Garden on Feb. 3, 2023. (Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

• Everything about the Celtics’ current situation seems set on trying to win an NBA championship for the 37-year-old Al Horford. Obviously their desires to win extend beyond just Horford, of course, but this is a win-now club, and the fact that Horford is still here while players such as Grant Williams and Rob Williams are not, indicates that they want to win with Horford and believe that Horford will be a big factor in their ability to win. For Horford, that means remaining the club’s Giannis and Embiid stopper, and that he’ll continue to knock long-range shots down at the clip he did a year ago (a career-high 44.6 percent success rate).

• Luke Kornet

  

  NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MAY 22: Luke Kornet #40 of the Boston Celtics warms up before the game against the Brooklyn Nets during Game One of their Eastern Conference first-round playoff series on May 22, 2021 at Barclays Center in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. (Elsa/Getty Images)

• An end-of-the-bench piece of the majority of his C’s run, Kornet is looking to build off a 2022-23 season that saw him on the court for a career-high 69 games played. And with Rob Williams, Grant Williams, and even Blake Griffin no longer in the picture for the Celtics, the 7-foot-2 center is an injury or two away from having to play significant minutes for the Celtics in 2023-24.

  The Vanderbilt product averaged 3.8 points ad 2.9 rebounds, along with a career-high 66.5 field goal percentage, in 11:39 per night last season.

• Svi Mykhailiuk

  

  Mar 23, 2023; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Charlotte Hornets guard Svi Mykhailiuk (17) during warms ups before the game against the New Orleans Pelicans at Smoothie King Center. (Stephen Lew/USA TODAY Sports)

• Signed out of training camp by the Knicks last fall, the 6-foot-7 Svi Mykhailiuk made 13 appearances for New York in 2022-23 before the Knicks shipped him to Portland in the Josh Hart trade. The Blazers then immediately rerouted Mykhailiuk to the Hornets in a separate trade. In Charlotte, Mykhailiuk certainly appeared to show a little something something in what was an obviously limited sample size, with a career-best 10.6 points per game and 44.1 field goal percentage (40.4 percent from three-point range) in 19 games.

  Mykhailiuk, who broke into the league in 2018 as a second-round pick of the Lakers, also averaged a career-high 2.7 assists per game during that 19-game run with Charlotte.

  A veteran of 252 games between six different franchises since 2018, Mykhailiuk appears to be your classic off-the-bench wing scorer who can chip in with the occasional three pointer and give you an effort on defense.

• Kristaps Porzingis

  

  WASHINGTON, DC – OCTOBER 21: Kristaps Porzingis #6 of the Washington Wizards looks on against the Chicago Bulls during the first half at Capital One Arena on October 21, 2022 in Washington, DC. (Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)

• After years of rumors linking the two together, the Celtics have indeed found The(ir) Unicorn with the addition of 7-foot-3 big man Kristaps Porzingis.

  Acquired from the Wizards in a three-team trade that also included the Grizzlies, Porzingis is beginning his Boston career looking to build off what was a career year with Washington, with a career-high in both points per game (23.2 points per game) and field goal percentage (49.8 percent).

  In DC, Porzingis also shot 38.5 percent from beyond the arc this past season, which was his second-best single season average (trailing only a 39.5 percent mark with the Knicks in 2017-18), and averaged 8.4 rebounds per game (his fourth-best single-season average and his fourth season of at least eight boards per game). His 2.7 assists per game were his second-best single-season average, too. The Latvian big man was also one of just three players to average at least 20 points, eight rebounds, and one block during the 2022-23 season, joining the Lakers’ Anthony Davis and Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid on that list.

  A foot injury kept Porinzgis out of the 2023 FIBA World Cup, but the Celtics do not expect that injury to limit his 2023-24 campaign with the club.

• Payton Pritchard

  

  SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – JUNE 02: Payton Pritchard #11 of the Boston Celtics reacts during the fourth quarter against the Golden State Warriors in Game One of the 2022 NBA Finals at Chase Center on June 02, 2022. (Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

• Raise your hand if you’re a little shocked that Payton Pritchard is still here. *slowly raises hand.*

  It’s not that Payton Pritchard is a bad NBA player undeserving of a spot on this team. Not at all, in fact. It just felt that Pritchard was eagerly awaiting an exit from the franchise, especially with Pritchard behind Marcus Smart, Malcolm Brogdon, and Derrick White on the proverbial depth chart. He basically admitted as much at various points last season, too, including at the trade deadline when a deal did not materialize for the C’s.

  But with Smart and Brogdon now gone via trade, the 25-year-old Pritchard’s door for real minutes has opened back up, and the Celtics appear set to give him a role increase as a result.

• Neemias Queta

  

  Feb 19, 2023; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Team Scoot center Neemias Queta (88) jukes Team Luka defense during the second half at the Jon M. Huntsman Center. (Christopher Creveling/USA TODAY Sports)

• A second-round pick by the Kings in 2021, Neemias Queta is another player who has joined the Celtics on a two-way contract for the upcoming season.

  Prior to his move to Boston, the 7-footer spent the last two seasons with Sacramento, where he appeared in 20 games over that two-season run, including a career-high 15 appearances in 2021-22. Overall, the Portuguese-born Queta’s NBA run has featured 57 points on 23-for-47 shooting (a 48.9 field goal percentage), along with 10 blocks and 42 rebounds, in over 148 minutes of NBA action.

  The 24-year-old Queta has also made 43 appearances for the Stockton Kings of the G League over the last two seasons, and has averaged 16.7 points and 8.3 rebounds per game throughout that run, along with a career-high 16.8 points per game in a 29-game G League sample this past season.

• Jay Scrubb

  

  Apr 6, 2023; Orlando, Florida, USA; Orlando Magic guard Jay Scrubb (0) goes to the basket against Cleveland Cavaliers forward Mamadi Diakite (21) during the second half at Amway Center. (Mike Watters/USA TODAY Sports)

• A 6-foot-5 guard, Scrubb has appeared in 24 NBA games over the last three seasons between the Clippers and Magic, and has averaged 4.0 points and 1.5 rebounds on 41.6 percent shooting.

  The Kentucky-born Scrubb also made 28 appearances for G-League Lakeland in 2022-23, and averaged 22.2 points, 5.8 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game.

  Like Davison and Queta, Scrubb is on a two-way contract for the 2023-24 season.

• Lamar Stevens

  

  CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – DECEMBER 31: Lamar Stevens #8 of the Cleveland Cavaliers rebounds the ball against the Chicago Bulls during the first half at United Center on December 31, 2022 in Chicago, Illinois. (Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

• One of the latest signings this offseason, the 26-year-old Stevens comes to the Celtics after three seasons with Cleveland. The versatile Stevens was at his best last season, too, as he made 25 starts in 62 games, and averaged just over 18 minutes per night. Stevens also averaged 5.3 points and 3.3 rebounds per game, while shooting 44.8 percent from the floor and 31.6 percent from three, for the Cavs over that span. 

  The 6-foot-6, 230-pound forward out of Philly has appeared in 165 games in his NBA career.

• D.J. Steward

  

  GREENSBORO, NORTH CAROLINA – MARCH 10: DJ Steward #2 of the Duke Blue Devils dunks the ball during the second half of their second round game against the Louisville Cardinals in the ACC Men’s Basketball Tournament at Greensboro Coliseum on March 10, 2021 in Greensboro, North Carolina. (Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

  With the Celtics on a training camp deal, the former Duke standout is in Boston after a 28-game run with G-League Stockton in 2022-23. The 6-foot-2 Steward averaged 12 points and 4.1 assists, and shot 45.8 percent from the field (40.9 percent from three-point range), over that run with the Kings’ G-League affiliate.

• Jayson Tatum

  

  Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics during Game 7 of the 2023 Eastern Conference Finals against the Miami Heat at TD Garden. (Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

• This is officially Jayson Tatum’s team. He knows it, too. He tried doing what he could to get Lillard to be interested in joining the Celtics this past summer, Tatum has openly talked about how he views his relationship with Boston as strong, and Tatum’s supermax contract extension with the Celtics is around the corner.

  That’s all great news for the Celtics, especially with Tatum elevating his game to true superstar status.

• Jordan Walsh

  

  LAHAINA, HI – NOVEMBER 21: Jordan Walsh #13 of the Arkansas Razorbacks takes a jump shot against the Louisville Cardinals during the Maui Invitational at Lahaina Civic Center on November 21, 2022. (Darryl Oumi/Getty Images)

• Boston’s lone pick from the 2023 NBA Draft, and a five-star recruit and McDonalds All-American coming out of Dallas, Texas, Walsh played one year at Arkansas before declaring for the draft. In 36 games (including 22 starts), he scored 7.1 points per game shooting 43.3 percent from the floor and 27.8 percent from three. He also grabbed 3.9 rebounds per game. Experts had his defense as one of his top traits coming out of school.

  The Celtics saw all that and more during Walsh’s Summer League run, which featured 16.0 points, 4.2 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.0 steals in 26.8 minutes per game.

• Derrick White

  

  Derrick White of the Boston Celtics in action against the Houston Rockets on March 13, 2023. (Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)

• Derrick White’s role will be a fascinating one to watch in 2023-24, especially with Holiday added to the mix. But if White brings more of what he did in 2022-23, which culminated with an All-Defensive Second Team honor for White, the Celtics will be more than pleased with how White and the rest of their backcourt pesters, hustles, and annoys the opposition.

  In action for all 82 games a year ago, White averaged 12.4 points and 3.9 assists per game a year ago, and also shot a career-high 38.1 percent from deep.

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Author Alex Barth

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Tags:

Boston Celtics,NBA,Payton Pritchard