When the 2019-20 NBA season is officially over, the Boston Celtics are expected to look for ways to address their need for a starting center. They may have performed well even without a dominant big man in the regular season up to the second round of the 2020 playoffs, but in their Eastern Conference Finals matchup against Bam Adebayo and the Miami Heat, their major frontcourt issue was exposed. The 2020 free agency may not be as star-studded as the previous offseason, but there are still plenty of quality free-agent centers that could help the Celtics solve one of their biggest roster problems this fall.
To fill the void left by Al Horford on their roster, Zach Buckley of Bleacher Report suggested that the Celtics should strongly consider signing Phoenix Suns center Aron Baynes in the off season.
“The Shamrocks could see that missing muscle in a familiar face: Aron Baynes, who played the past two seasons with the franchise and remains a fan from afar. Adding a three-ball to his arsenal powered him to a career-best 18.5 points per 36 minutes, and it means he wouldn’t gunk up the offensive spacing upon a return to the Northeast. Baynes isn’t the sexiest name on the market — Jakob Poeltl and Chris Boucher might be more intriguing ways to address the interior void — but the C’s have all the sizzle they need in Kemba Walker, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.”
Though he’s clearly not on the same level as Adebayo, Joel Embiid, Anthony Davis, and Nikola Jokic, Baynes would still be an incredible addition to the Celtics, giving them a center who almost has the same skillset as Horford.
Aside from being a quality rim protector, he’s also a great rebounder, facilitator, and floor-spacer. This season, the 33-year-old big man averaged 11.5 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 1.6 assists while shooting 48.0 percent from the field, and 35.1 percent from beyond the arc, per ESPN .
Baynes wouldn’t need to familiarize himself with the Celtics since he played for them for two seasons before he joined the Suns last year. Adding Baynes to the core of Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Kemba Walker, and Marcus Smart would undeniably give the Celtics a better chance of dominating the Eastern Conference and winning the NBA championship next season.
Baynes hasn’t shown any sign that he’s no longer happy in Phoenix, but at this point in his career, he would be better off playing for a legitimate title contender than wasting his remaining years in the league mentoring young players on a rebuilding team.
