Aron Baynes is a great addition who turned down a bigger paycheck to join the Celtics


Aron Baynes officially signed his 1-year contract with the Boston Celtics this afternoon. The addition of Baynes may seem minor on it's face with all the other crazy stuff going on in Boston this summer, but he's likely going to play a big role for the Celtics this season. Aside from Al Horford he's the only traditional veteran big on the Celtics roster at 6'10 and 260lbs and he may just find himself sliding into the Amir Johnson role in the starting lineup.

Baynes only logged a little over 15 minutes per game for the Detroit Pistons last season yet the team performed exceptionally better with him on the floor:


Baynes turned down a $6.5 million dollar player option he had with Detroit to come to Boston, and according to Olgun Uluc of Fox Sports he also turned down offers from both the Houston Rockets and LA Clippers as well. This perhaps could have a lot to do with Boston being a team on the rise as championship contenders but also likely to do with the Celtics offering him a larger role than the other teams in question.

With Amir headed to Philadelphia the C's have a nice chunk of minutes to offer a veteran big man who does a lot of the same things his predecessor did, but better. He's a better rebounder at this point in his career, 10.3 per 36 vs Amir's 8.2 last season, and while the Celtics always benefitted from Johnson's screen-setting Baynes is known as one of the best screeners both on and off the ball in the league. He also provides some serious interior presence on defense as he allowed the 10th lowest field goal percentage in the NBA when defending at the rim.

While Marcus Morris may start some games when the Celtics have the right matchup to go small it wouldn't shock me if the starting lineup is a fluid mix of either Morris or Baynes at times - similiar to the way Stevens rotated in Jonas Jerebko for Amir at times last season. Baynes being on the floor allows him to absorb some of the punishment from opposing bigs in the paint on defense and keeps Horford from wearing down. I mean, the guy's nickname is Bangers - he's a beast in the paint and a great compliment alongside Big Al. The added toughness between him and his former teammate Morris will be invaluable.


Baynes also brings some championship pedigree with him as well. He played a big role on the 2013-14 San Antonio Spurs title team that washed out LeBron James and the Miami Heat in the finals that year. Just another reason to like the guy!


Redbones in Somerville is my jam, Aron.


Photo Credit - Celtics.com

Follow Mark on Twitter: @MarkAL401


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