The Boston Celtics have been at the forefront of offseason rumors thus far. However, they managed to lock up one of their own for the near future. There had been plenty of speculation that the Celtics would bring back center Aron Baynes.
According to Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports, Baynes has agreed to a two-year, $11 million deal:
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
It should be noted that the second year of Baynes' deal is a player option. However, it is safe to assume he is ready to stick around after his recent post on Twitter.
Staying where I wanted to be!! Last year added fuel to the 🔥 bleed green banner 18 ☘️☘️☘️
— Aron Baynes (@aronbaynes) July 1, 2018
The move hardly comes as any surprise. General manager Danny Ainge has been rather open about his desire to retain Baynes. Furthermore, Baynes was also seen representing the Celtics at the NBA Awards recently which suggests the writing may have been on the wall already.
When he is not getting dunked on, Baynes is a seamless fit for this gritty Boston team. He averaged 6.0 points and 5.4 rebounds in 18.3 minutes per game in the 2017-18 NBA season. The agreement adds some much-needed depth to Boston's frontcourt outside of big man Al Horford.
The Celtics have now managed to take care of one free agent on their roster. They will now turn their focus to guard Marcus Smart. The Baynes' deal leaves Boston with roughly $11 million for Smart in order to void the luxury tax. However, they may need to do just that in order to keep him around this offseason. That said, it may take a bit more time for both sides to potentially hash out a deal.
Follow Us
Subscribe