It seemed inevitable after falling into an 0-3 hole in the Eastern Conference Finals that the Boston Celtics would undergo some changes once their season ended. Though they extended it by a few more games, the end result was the same – and now one player allegedly wants out.
According to The Athletic via NBACentral, Celtics guard Payton Pritchard has expressed hopes that he’ll be traded this coming summer. Pritchard saw his role with the team diminish this past season and the results were career-lows across the board.
Last year Pritchard played in 71 regular season games and all 24 of the Celtics’ postseason games, giving them solid if unremarkable production off the bench.
The former first-round pick out of Oregon has started nine of 185 games and averaged 6.6 points over 15.7 minutes per game since 2020.
Payton Pritchard has made it clear he hopes to be traded this summer, per @TheAthletic pic.twitter.com/7yScLaRfdI
— NBACentral (@TheNBACentral) June 1, 2023
Over the course of the Eastern Conference Finals there became rumblings that the Celtics might either fire coaches or trade players in the ensuing summer. Just about everything has been on the table despite the team reaching the Conference Finals in back-to-back years and the NBA Finals last season.
Will Payton Pritchard get his wish and be traded?
Will any other notable Boston players get traded or released in the weeks to come?