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The Boston Celtics are in the market for another big man after they traded Daniel Theis to the Indiana Pacers to acquire Malcolm Brogdon. One possible option is former Celtic Aron Baynes. After brief stints with the Toronto Raptors and Phoenix Suns, Baynes suffered a spinal cord injury during the 2021 Tokyo Olympics that kept him out for the entire 2021-22 season. On July 9, 2022, Baynes held a workout for NBA teams during the Las Vegas Summer League.
Because Brad Stevens has brought in multiple bigs who he previously coached since taking over as Boston’s President of Basketball Operations in 2021, bringing Baynes back as well wouldn’t be the most surprising move from him. However, it appears the Celtics aren’t too interested in a reunion after all. Adam Himmelsbach revealed that Boston checked in on Baynes but isn’t interested in bringing him back.
Baynes will turn 36 years old in December, so if he were brought back, he would be among the oldest players in the NBA. Plans can change over time. If the Celtics were to lose one of their more valuable frontcourt players like Al Horford or Robert Williams III during the season, then they may potentially take another look at Baynes, but for now, it appears the Australian big man will have to look elsewhere for his next NBA team.
Multiple Celtics Showed Support for Baynes
On July 9, Baynes tweeted out that he was back doing what he loves while sharing a picture of him during his Las Vegas workout.
Jaylen Brown, who played with Baynes from 2017 to 2019, liked Baynes’ tweet, fueling speculation among Celtics fans that perhaps Brown was signaling a potential reunion with Baynes.
Al Horford, who played with Baynes in the exact same timespan as Brown, also liked Baynes’ tweet. This support goes back further than Baynes’ most recent workout.
On January 27, Jayson Tatum shouted out Baynes following Baynes’ first time speaking with reporters following his tragic spinal cord injury, going as far as calling him one of his favorite teammates ever.
Although it appears that the Celtics themselves are not interested in a reunion with Baynes, it’s abundantly clear that his former Celtics teammates still have a strong connection with the Australian center and want him to succeed no matter what.
Could Baynes Have Fit in Boston?
While Baynes did his workout in Las Vegas on July 9, Steve Bulpett met with various execs and scouts who were split on his potential comeback.
One source said that Baynes could potentially fit with Boston because his potential role with the team wouldn’t be all that big.
“I can see a fit in Boston. They’ve already got (Rob) Williams and Al (Horford) and the other Williams (Grant) when they want to go smaller. They wouldn’t be asking a lot from (Baynes). He played for Brad (Stevens), so it’d be a bit different with (Ime) Udoka, but I wouldn’t see that as any problem.”
The source also added that Boston may wait on bringing him back because they may want to check out other options first.
“It’s just a matter of what direction Boston wants to go. I can see them waiting a bit, too. There are some bigs that could become available as other moves get made.”
Now that it’s been confirmed that Boston is not interested in reuniting with Baynes, it begs the question of who they’ll chase after instead.
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