According to reports, the Boston Celtics have agreed to sign unrestricted free agent center Aron Baynes to a contract worth $11 million over two years. The contract cannot officially be signed until the end of the NBA’s moratorium period on July 7th.
Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports broke the news:
Free agent center Aron Baynes has agreed to a two-year, $11M deal to return to the Boston Celtics, league sources tell Yahoo.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 1, 2018
Boston Celtics Agree to Re-Sign Aron Baynes to Two-Year Contract
Baynes’s contract will take him through the end of the 2019-20 season. According to Charania, Baynes has a player option for the second season. If he opts out, Baynes can become a free agent again next summer.
Baynes averaged 6.0 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 0.6 blocks per game last season for the Celtics in a career-high 18.3 minutes per game. Despite not having jaw-dropping numbers, the big man played a key role in the Celtics’ success this season on defense and rebounding. What Baynes is perhaps most known for lately, however, is being posterized repeatedly throughout the season by different players. Remarkably, despite only making three three-pointers all season, Baynes easily led the Celtics in 3 point percentage in their surprise 2018 playoff run, shooting 47.8 percent from distance on 23 attempts up before his team lost to the Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Looking forward, Baynes will continue to provide depth as a reserve center for Boston. Not really known for any one thing he does on the court save maybe his toughness, Baynes will look to build on his playoff three-point shooting in becoming a consistent threat to draw out opposing big men and fit right in with today’s pace and space NBA. The Celtics will look for Baynes to be a reliable option off the bench to help them win a title next season.
Baynes is going into his 7th season in the league, during which he’ll be 32 years old. Since being signed undrafted by San Antonio in 2013, he’s bounced around to Detroit and Boston.
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