The Boston Celtics backcourt of Marcus Smart and Derrick White got even deeper with the addition of Malcolm Brogdon this season. The veteran trio are all capable of the same play style on both ends of the court, leaving third-year guard Payton Pritchard out of the rotation.

Despite earlier reports about teams inquiring about Pritchard, don’t expect the Celtics to move on from him by the trade deadline, as he’s still valued in Boston, per Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe.

“It’s hard to envision a trade the Celtics could make that would truly upgrade their rotation. Also, they traded their 2023 first-round pick in the Malcolm Brogdon deal. There’s been some suggestion that the team should consider dealing Payton Pritchard, a valuable piece late last season who has fallen back out of the rotation. But Pritchard is just 24 and Boston is just one injury away from needing him.”

This is a great note by Himmelsbach, who points out the elephant in the room that the Celtics still need Pritchard.

As we enter the second half of the season, there’s a great chance Pritchard could start being used more throughout the regular season for load management reasons on Smart and Brogdon or the unfortunate potential injury, as Himmelsbach suggested.

It makes sense for the Celtics to keep him around for the rest of the season. Does it make sense for Pritchard? That’s another question for a different day, but for now, Pritchard is valuable to the Celtics, despite how it looks.

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