Big Dick Baynes Is Returning To The Celtics Next Season

Underrated but gigantic news (no pun intended but intended) with Aron Baynes opting into his deal and returning to the Celts for another crack at it. To the casual fan this may night seem like all that big a deal, but let me tell you this is very important to the immediate future of this team. If I said it once I said it a thousand times when it comes to the success of the Boston Celtics it isn’t high powered offense, it isn’t fancy dribbling, it isn’t young kids in isolation, it all pretty much comes down to defense and rebounding. When the Celts do those two things they are practically unbeatable, which is where Aron Baynes comes into play.

First, the $5.9M isn’t even that expensive compared to what other starting centers in the league make, so right off the bat you love the deal from a financial angle. From an actual on the court production angle it’s hard to hate the move either. To say Baynes was instrumental in the Celtics having one of the league’s best defenses is an understatement. The numbers pretty much speak for themselves

– The starting five of Kyrie/Smart/Tatum/Horford/Baynes had a +15 net rating, a 98.5 Drtg and was a +30.4 in points per 100 possessions

– The Celtics defensive rating was nearly 5 points better with Baynes on the floor compared to off during the regular season and 2 points better (99.6) during the playoffs.

– Compared to other centers in the NBA that played at least 51 games (what Baynes played) he ranked 3rd in Drtg, 7th in Net rating (ahead of Al)

– His 19.8 DREB% was the highest of any regular rotation player on the roster

Is the signing of Aron Baynes the big time free agent splash that is going to put the Celtics in the Finals? No, but there is something to be said about a team that needs role players who actually accept their role. Year after year we watched Celtics teams get pushed around on the glass and make it very clear they were missing a big bruiser down low. Aron Baynes has been everything you could want and more, and the fact that he actually shoots threes now (34%) is just icing on the cake. A lot of what Baynes brings  to the table aligns with what most of us feel like Celtics basketball is. He’s tough, defensive minded, unselfish, and a great locker room presence. For a team that needs an attitude adjustment having Baynes in the fold is a good thing.

So if we can all agree that defense and rebounding is a huge piece of the pouzzle (because it is), then retaining your best interior defender and best rebounder certainly doesn’t hurt. Again, while this may not be the splashiest move we’re going to see this summer on Twitter, for the Celtics to get back to where they want to be it’s an important step.