Report: Boston Celtics in talks with Aron Baynes for multi-year deal

All of Australia might be sticking around for the long haul.

NBC Boston's A. Sherrod Blakely is reporting the Boston Celtics are trying to work out a multi-year deal with big man Aron Baynes. Baynes, who cannot make more than $5,193,600 next season via Non-Bird Rights (a mechanism which both helps teams retain players, but also limits how much they can be paid coming off one-year deals) unless Boston uses a Mid-Level Exception to sign him.

Aron has certainly made a case for being worth more - maybe much more - after leading the NBA in defensive rating last season, spicing up his long-term value as an aging big (he's 31) with a three-point shot had many analysts wonder if he'd priced himself out of Boston's future.

With the Cs poised to contend next season and the rest of the league without the necessary cap space required to sign all the top-tier talent, however, the Celtics may be looking like the perfect location for a player playing a position slowly going the way of the dinosaur.
In Boston's schema, Baynes not only fits, but works very well - there's no guarantees of fit like that on almost every other team in the league. We've also grown a little attached to Man Bun around here - it won't feel right eliminating the Philadelphia 76ers without him.

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Image: Brian Babineau/NBAE
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