A lot has changed for the Boston Celtics over the past few months. And yet, in Payton Pritchard’s eyes, there’s still only one overarching goal for this team to pursue next season, and that’s to win a championship.
The Celtics’ 2024-25 campaign came crashing down last year after Jayson Tatum suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon in Game 4 of their Eastern Conference semifinals series against the New York Knicks. He’s now expected to miss the entire upcoming season as a result.
With Tatum out for an extended period of time, Boston’s front office made it their goal to get back under the second apron of the salary cap. That led to Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis getting traded, and Luke Kornet departing in free agency.
The Celtics roster looks a bit different, and they don’t appear likely to be a title contender next season. And while expectations for the team are certainly lower, Pritchard made it clear he’s still playing with the belief Boston can win it all next season.
“We’re definitely trying to be a playoff team,” Pritchard said, per Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston. “We’re trying to win the championship. It’s not even about the playoffs. We have one standard in Boston, and it’s to win the championship.”
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Pritchard has suddenly found himself in a bit of a leadership role alongside Jaylen Brown and Derrick White when it comes to the upcoming season. Last season, Pritchard won the Sixth Man of the Year Award after he averaged 14.3 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game while shooting 47.2% from the field.
The chatter surrounding the Celtics is that they may be better off tanking next season in order to reload for when Tatum returns. Pritchard isn’t going to hear any of that, though; he wants Boston to contend, no matter who is at their disposal.
Brad Stevens and the front office have been busy to begin the offseason, but they may still have some work to do when it comes to tinkering with their roster. As long as Pritchard is on the court, though, he’s going to do everything he can to ensure the C’s will be contending for a title next season.