Believe it or not, Payton Pritchard is valuable to the Boston Celtics, even after the summer additions of Malcolm Brogdon and Danilo Gallinari as Pritchard is part of the core depth the Celtics built around this offseason.

Although he didn’t crack the rotation until midway through the last year, Pritchard became part of the limited three-man bench that first-year head coach Ime Udoka elected to run with for most of the second half of the season.

Payton Pritchard can play important part in limited role next season

The contributing quality Protchard offers the Celtics is the ability to space the floor with the way he can connect with range from behind the arc- he’s a 41.2 percent 3-point shooter for his career.

We should start seeing Pritchard being utilized as a shooter more rather than a point guard next season and the addition of Brogdon will allow Pritchard to do what he does best- shoot and score rather than focusing on playmaking.

The addition of Brogdon, however, will certainly take a few minutes away from Pritchard. But overall Pritchard’s role will be more suited to his own skill set with Brogdon here.

Boston acquiring Malcolm Brogdon can help Payton Pritchard

It’s fair to say that Pritchard could be more effective in a better situation for himself. And it has nothing to do with him, it’s the fact he came into an already established team when the Celtics drafted him 26th overall in 2020.

Pritchard offers consistent shooting from the bench, which is something the Celtics can still benefit from after acquiring Gallinari and re-signing Sam Hauser. 

It’s also worth noting that Pritchard does get beat more often than not defensively, however, his effort is always 110% and he plays a pestering style of defense. 

Despite not cracking the rotation until about the halfway point of last season, head coach Ime Udoka has often spoken highly of Pritchard and even called him one of the best shooters on his team.

“He’s obviously one of our best shooters. Guys are really looking for him. You can feel it. You can see it. They’re looking for him in transition. He just adds another layer to our team. The confidence part was always there for him, it was always just a matter of opportunity.”

In a different and more specific role, Pritchard has the tools to be a real contributor for the Celtics in a more off-ball lineup where can just shoot and score.

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Photo Credit: Winslow-Townson, USA TODAY Sports