Boston Celtics: What to expect from Aron Baynes
Aron Baynes will have a tough time maintaining the role he established last season on the Boston Celtics
The Boston Celtics brought back Aron Baynes on tremendous value. It felt like the easiest negotiations ever, because both sides realize how important sticking together is. Baynes had a phenomenal season last year,. He was an elite defender and top contributor on a conference finals team.
Baynes did more than enough to establish a solid role with this team, but the reality is that he might become obsolete. Only injuries will get Baynes back in the starting lineup, and traditional size is going to be even less important to them.
The Celtics have build up a top core of wings, they have athletically versatile guards, and they have all kinds of versatility in their backup front court. Baynes is established and the Celtics know what they will get, but the Celtics have multiple options that help unlock their best potential.
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In the end, Baynes will always end up limiting what they want to do. Unless of course, his absurd three point shooting was not actually a fluke and he becomes a threat from deep on a regular basis.
Right now, however, what we can expect from Baynes is a defenisve specialist, who can bring a new level of toughness to their front court. What is good for Baynes is that no one else can come close to his impact when it comes to traditional size.
The most important thing is then the trust. Baynes was one of the most trusted defenders in the NBA last season, and everyone knows how good he can be playing next to Al Horford.
At the beginning, that defense could give him a top role off the bench. The issues will come when the more versatile options get more opportunities. Other players will inevitably show the Celtics that they can offer more than Baynes, and his role could slowly disappear as the season goes on.
Baynes embraced the franchise as much as possible, and was a vital piece to the great run last year. He belongs in Boston and he will continue to have an impact. The unfortunate reality is that he will struggle to get close to the impact he had last season, and could eventually be lost entirely.
Baynes will make it difficult on the younger options, setting a great standard on defense. Who knows how much time it will take, but there are too many options with much better upside to expect Baynes to maintain a prominent role in the front court.