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The Boston Celtics made a big move this offseason after a first-round playoff exit, but it wasn’t one that went down well with their fanbase. The Celtics shocked the basketball world by trading Jaylen Brown to the rival Philadelphia 76ers in a deal that no one saw coming. You’d have thought that all the Celtics players would have been shocked by the trade, too, but guard Payton Pritchard wasn’t. Pritchard spoke about Brown being moved during an interview with Celtics On CLNS. “I mean, it’s part of the business,” Pritchard said. “Nothing’s actually really that shocking to me anymore. You’re just used to seeing big things, and I think changes happen all the time. It always sucks to see a brother and a teammate that you played with for a long time go, but you move on, and you get ready to go to war against him.” Pritchard and Brown had spent six seasons together on the Celtics. The latter was already on the team when the former arrived as the No. 26 pick in the 2020 NBA Draft. Brown had spent four seasons in the NBA by then and guided the young Pritchard. “I learned so much from him,” Pritchard said. “So, very grateful for our relationship. He’s obviously a tremendous basketball player. But yeah, just took me under his wing at times, and I’m very grateful for it.” Brown is definitely tremendous. The five-time All-Star averaged 28.7 points, 6.9 rebounds, 5.1 assists, 1.0 steals, and 0.4 blocks per game for the Celtics in 2025-26. Brown led the Celtics to the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference with a 56-26 record and finished sixth in MVP voting. You don’t see teams move off players after having a season like that, but that is exactly what happened. The Celtics sent Brown to the 76ers for Paul George, two first-round picks, and two second-round picks. To say that was an underwhelming return for the 29-year-old would be an understatement. As for why the Celtics made this trade, president of basketball operations Brad Stevens mentioned it is hard to challenge for a title when two players take up 70% of the cap. Stevens was, of course, referring to Brown and Jayson Tatum. If the Celtics had to pick between them, it was always going to be Tatum who stayed. He looked great on his return from a torn Achilles last season, and should be back to his best next season. It will be interesting to see, though, whether Tatum can lead the Celtics to the same kind of regular-season success as Brown did. The Celtics Are Betting On Payton Pritchard To Take A Leap Like Jalen Brunson Pritchard has gone from being a nice feel-good story to a key piece for the Celtics in recent years, and they believe he can go up another level. An NBA analyst claimed the team hopes he makes the kind of leap that New York Knicks superstar Jalen Brunson did. “The Celtics trading Brown is a bet that Pritchard is their in-house version of New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson.” Now, Pritchard had a bigger role than ever before last season because Tatum was injured while Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday had been traded away. He capitalized on the opportunity and averaged 17.0 points, 3.9 rebounds, 5.2 assists, 0.7 steals, and 0.1 blocks per game in 2025-26. Those are pretty good numbers, and Pritchard is a pretty good player. He is not taking a leap like Brunson, though. You’re talking about a player who went from being the second option behind a very ball-dominant Luka Doncic on the Dallas Mavericks to the first option on the Knicks in 2022 at the age of 26. Even if you believe Pritchard is more talented than the general public thinks he is, he was the second option behind Brown last season and will be the second option behind Tatum now. He might put up slightly better numbers, but don’t expect a leap.