Aron Baynes, unlike his fellow 2019 Celtics free agents, decided to commit to Boston by opting into the final year of his contract.
Ironically enough, the C’s now might be looking to move the veteran big man.
The Celtics suddenly find themselves looking for ample cap space in wake of recent of events. Kyrie Irving all but certainly will be moving on from the team, and Al Horford likely is ticketed out of Boston as well. Both stars’ departures will free up some salary cap space for Boston, and the franchise reportedly will look to open up even more via Baynes.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported Thursday morning the Celtics have made Baynes available to teams looking to take on an expiring contract. The 32-year-old center, who’s slated to earn $5.4 million in the 2019-20 season, could help Boston reach $23 million in cap space should the franchise not take on any money in a potential deal, per Wojnarowski.
Boston has offered center Aron Baynes — $5.4M expiring contract — into salary cap space elsewhere, league sources tell ESPN. Without Kyrie Irving and Al Horford on the books, moving Baynes without taking back salary could get the Celtics to $23M in space.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 20, 2019
In another twist of irony, a Baynes trade could help the Celtics find his potential replacement. With Horford’s expected exit poised to create a major void in Boston’s frontcourt, president of basketball operations Danny Ainge reportedly will target a center in free agency. If the C’s are able to free up enough cap space, they could pursue one of the league’s premier big men such as Nikola Vucevic.
That will be a matter to take care of in the coming weeks, however. Boston’s next order of business will be Thursday night’s draft, in which the club has three first-round picks.
