How Payton Pritchard’s trade request sparked rise with Celtics – NBC Sports Boston

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Imagn Images/NBC Sports Boston

Imagn Images/NBC Sports Boston

Take a stroll outside TD Garden before a Boston Celtics home game, and you quickly discover that Payton Pritchard-themed merchandise is a hot item.

Street vendors apologize for their lack of inventory on “Pritch Please” hoodies and suggest maybe snagging one of the few remaining T-shirts spilling out of the boxes next to their cluttered tables. 

Inside TD Garden, a cartoon Pritchard adorns the shirts of fans clutching “Pritch Please” signage. No. 11 jerseys dot the arena, some with Pritchard’s named still taped over Kyrie Irving’s old nameplate.

Two seasons ago, this all felt slightly improbable. Despite emerging as an immediate role player for the Celtics after being taken 26th overall in the 2020 NBA Draft, and despite playing in all 24 playoff games amid Boston’s run to the 2022 NBA Finals, Pritchard’s playing time had all but dried up during the 2022-23 season. The Celtics had an overstocked backcourt with the addition of Malcolm Brogdon, who was steamrolling toward the Sixth Man of the Year award.

Quietly, Pritchard seethed, trying to use his lack of playing time as fuel to work even harder for whenever his next opportunity arrived. But he had started to wonder if that opportunity would be somewhere other than Boston, culminating with what was essentially a plea for Brad Stevens to move him if the Celtics’ president of basketball operations didn’t see a robust role for Pritchard with the team. 

“At the time, [asking for a trade] wasn’t really that hard because I just didn’t see a future,” said Pritchard. “I’ve always said this: It was nothing to do with the city or the organization. I think the organization is top-notch. I think Boston is the best sports city in the world. The best fans and the games are always sold out. As a player, you want to play in a situation like that. 

“But, end of the day, I’d rather be playing. And I wasn’t playing. I was watching a lot of games. Now, we were really good and I was going…

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Source link : https://www.nbcsportsboston.com/nba/boston-celtics/payton-pritchard-brad-stevens-trade-request-sixth-man/698665/?partner=yahoo

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Publish date : 2025-03-28 14:30:00

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