Would you trade Payton Pritchard for Kelly Olynyk?
According to long time Celtics beat writer Steve Bulpett, Brad Stevens is interested in bringing back Kelly Olynyk to Boston. To get a deal done, Stevens will have to negotiate with his old boss Danny Ainge. Chris Forsberg says in his report above that the Celtics interest in Olynyk is real and to make the contracts work, Boston would have to likely trade Danilo Gallinari, Payton Pritchard, and Justin Jackson.👀 @ChrisForsberg_ w/ @trenni: #Celtics interest in Kelly Olynyk reunion is real pic.twitter.com/O3dVVfGdxi
— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) February 3, 2023
Gallinari is a negative asset, so the Celtics offer is already starting behind, but Pritchard is almost seven years younger than Olynyk, so he'd be a good get for the Jazz. Personally I kind of hate these trades when you trade the much younger guy for a potential upgrade or "need," but the player you are acquiring isn't even guaranteed to get minutes in the playoffs.
Olynyk would serve as the 3rd big and be an upgrade over Luke Kornet and Blake Griffin, but there's a reason why he's bounced around from team to team and why he's not always in the rotation. He's an ok player, and now he's getting old.
If the Celtics are going to trade Pritchard, I'd prefer a better piece coming back. Since the Celtics actually have a bonafide top team this season, I think they will be a desirable spot for a big who reaches a buy out after the trade deadline. Seems like they could get a comparable talent to Olynyk by just going that route.
What do you think? Would you trade Pritchard for Olynyk?