Boston Celtics: Is Aron Baynes the best FA Cs can realistically sign?

Could a reunion with Aron Baynes this offseason be the best signing the Boston Celtics can make in 2020 free agency?

We have been off and running with our free agency coverage here at the Houdini since the Boston Celtics were eliminated by the Eastern Conference Champion Miami Heat in September. So has everyone else, and oftentimes, there are synergies between us and other Cs publications.

We could all agree that former Celtics center Aron Baynes would be an ideal free-agent target for the Cs this offseason. I said as much just last week:

"Boston Celtics fans should all be willing to accept Aron Baynes back onto the roster given the lack of established big men options on the depth chart. The postseason showed that Daniel Theis can hold his own, but when tasked with a dominant offensive big like Bam Adebayo, is unable to contain the best of the best."

All season, the Houdini has been clamoring for a return to the team for Baynes. Of course, the idea is that if he can be had for the mid-level exception, he would be a great get.

But would he be the best they can get?

Bleacher Report’s Zach Buckley seems to believe so:

"Daniel Theis, Enes Kanter and Robert Williams III formed a workable center rotation for most of the season, but Boston’s inability to throw length and strength at Bam Adebayo in the Eastern Conference Finals proved a fatal flaw. 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. Supporting those stars with a blue-collar bruiser could quietly be a best-case scenario for the offseason."

Buckley is spot on in his analysis of Baynes. He has improved as a 3-point shooter, and he would be a better match physically for Bam Adebayo and the like than anyone currently in Brad Stevens center rotation.

That said, saying Baynes is the best free-agent they could get may be incorrect. Valuable veterans like Paul Milsap and Serge Ibaka could settle for the mid-level exception if a market doesn’t form for traditional power forwards in a league that’s either supersizing at the center or doing away with the position altogether.

Boston used the undersized Daniel Theis as their starting pivot to great results, so either man of the pair could moonlight as the team’s starting 5.

We will have to see how the market develops, but what do you think Boston Celtics fans? Is Baynes the best target the Cs can acquire in free agency?

Sound off in the comments below!