Celtics' Jaylen Brown trade puts spotlight on Payton Pritchard's expected breakout

Now that the Boston Celtics have finally traded Jaylen Brown, multiple updates have come out regarding the organization’s thought process. 

One of the more prominent updates was the fact that Boston did this trade because they may believe that their Sixth Man of the Year, Payton Pritchard, will be able to step into Brown’s role as the Robin to Jayson Tatum’s Batman. In fact, he could have a similar explosion to New York Knicks Finals MVP Jalen Brunson.

“The Celtics trading [Jaylen] Brown is a bet that [Payton] Pritchard is their in-house version of New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson, a diminutive player who didn’t fully show his talents until Luka Dončić was out of the picture,” Yahoo!Sports’ Tom Haberstroh wrote.

Jalen Brunson exploded onto the scene with New York

Imagn Images

In Brunson’s final season with the Dallas Mavericks, he averaged 16.3 points, 3.9 rebounds and 4.8 assists while shooting 50/37/84 in 32 minutes per game. Just the next season with the Knicks, he increased to 24 PPG, and 6.2 APG, while shooting 48/40/85.

He was given the greenlight to be a superstar, and he took advantage of it. His stats kept increasing, and he was rewarded with All-NBA and All-Star selections, an IST MVP, an ECF MVP, a championship and a Finals MVP.

Pritchard has the chance to do the same

Imagn Images

Now, while he can’t be the No. 1 option, Pritchard has the chance to be the for-sure No. 2 option in Boston. After being a starter for most of last season, he averaged 17 points, four rebounds, and 5.2 assists on 46/38/89 splits; strikingly similar to Brunson’s last Mavs year.

So, becoming the full-time starting point guard, Pritchard will get a boost in minutes and time where the ball is in his hands. This would definitely set him up to take a leap forward.

Can Pritchard take the next step?

Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

The short answer is yes, but with some caveats. Pritchard will probably not be Brunson, but he will definitely become the No. 2 option if they let him be. 

Brunson was given the No. 1 role as soon as he landed in New York, which definitely jumpstarted his growth. Pritchard will go from being a fourth option to the second, which gives him a boost as well, just not as big. 

However, just because he won’t be as good as Brunson, doesn’t mean the Celtics will get worse. Tatum is now the unequivocal No. 1 option in Boston, so he’s probably going to take a leap too. If both of them can leap, the sky’s the limit.

MORE NBA CONTENT

Celtics' Jaylen Brown trade for Paul George could become Brad Stevens' biggest gamble yet

Mitchell Robinson signing could force Celtics to rethink Jaylen Brown trade strategy

Ja Morant trade could dramatically reshape Trail Blazers' pursuit of Celtics star Jaylen Brown