Celtics sign first-round picks Aaron Nesmith, Payton Pritchard to rookie contracts

The Celtics officially signed their two 2020 first-round picks, Vanderbilt’s Aaron Nesmith and Oregon’s Payton Pritchard, to rookie scale contracts, the team announced in a press release.

After playing a part-time role as a freshman, Nesmith was in the midst of a breakout sophomore year in 2019-20 before a stress fracture in his right foot brought his season to an early end in January. In 14 games (35.7 MPG), he averaged 23.0 PPG and 4.9 RPG with an impressive .512/.522/.825 shooting line. He said Tuesday that his foot is 100% healthy and that he’ll be ready for camp, tweets Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe.

As for Pritchard, he tested the draft waters in 2019 before returning to the Ducks for his senior season, which was the best of his college career. He averaged 20.5 PPG, 5.5 APG and 4.3 RPG, while shooting 41.5% on three-pointers in 31 games (36.6 MPG) in 2019-20.

Nesmith, the No. 14 pick, projects to earn $16.5M on his four-year contract, assuming he signs for the full allowable 120% of the rookie scale. The No. 26 pick, Pritchard will make $10.45M on his four-year rookie deal.