ARON BAYNES
AGE: 29
NBA EXPERIENCE: 4 seasons
BECAME A PISTON: Baynes signed a free-agent contract with the Pistons in July 2015.
CAREER MILESTONES: Baynes was born in New Zealand but moved to Australia at a young age, has dual citizenship and plays for the Australian national team. He came to the United States to play for Washington State at 18 and spent four years on the Pullman campus, going undrafted in 2009. He played for four teams in four different European leagues in the four years after exhausting his collegiate eligibility, going from Lithuania to Germany to Greece to Slovenia. He was signed by the San Antonio Spurs in January 2013 and spent the next 2½ seasons playing for the Spurs. Baynes was a member of San Antonio’s 2013-14 NBA championship team, then saw his role expand in 2014-15 when he drew 17 starts and played in 70 games for San Antonio.
CAREER ARC: The Pistons identified Baynes as their No. 1 target for the role of backup center to Andre Drummond in the 2015 off-season and came to a swift agreement with him in free agency. Pistons scouts were convinced that Baynes had a more varied offensive skill set, primarily based on his play for the Australian national team and particularly during the 2012 London Olympics, than he’d been able to show in a more limited and defined role with the talent-laden Spurs. Baynes, though not an above-the-rim defender, has made himself into a plus defender due to his strength and assignment-sure execution. On offense, he can score with either hand around the rim – he’s ambidextrous and signs left-handed – and is a face-up threat from inside 15 to 18 feet. His screens don’t earn him any headlines but they don’t go unappreciated by his teammates and coaches.
SEASON HIGHLIGHTS: Baynes’ playing time and numbers increased over the course of the season, in large measure because Pistons opponents became increasingly aggressive in their use of the intentional fouling strategy against Andre Drummond. But Baynes earned his increased minutes, too, after a slow start caused largely by his limited participation in training camp as he recovered from off-season ankle surgery. Before the All-Star game, Baynes averaged 5.7 points and 4.5 rebounds in 14 minutes a game; his corresponding numbers after the break were 7.5, 5.1 and 17. Over a seven-game span in March, with the Pistons chasing a playoff berth, Baynes averaged 11.4 points and 6.7 rebounds as the Pistons went 6-1. That included a 21-point, seven-rebound outing against Brooklyn. Baynes scored in double figures seven times in the team’s last 14 regular-season games.
2016-17 ROLE: It figures to be more of the same for Baynes as he serves as Drummond’s backup. The NBA is expected to address the intentional fouling strategy at some level this summer, but if nothing substantively changes look for teams to continue to test Drummond and for Stan Van Gundy to go without hesitation to Baynes should Drummond struggle at the line. Baynes wasn’t often used at power forward next to Drummond, but with Anthony Tolliver headed to free agency it’s possible Baynes will become part of the mix at that position next season, as well. Van Gundy might be in the market for a power forward-center combo player this summer to give the Pistons the flexibility to play with five shooters at once, which could affect Baynes’ time at center.
CONTRACT STATUS: Baynes is under contract for 2016-17 and holds a reported player option for 2017-18.