Aron Baynes

After losing both Marc Gasol and Serge Ibaka in free agency, the Toronto Raptors decided to sign Aron Baynes to a two-year, $14.3M deal in hopes that he could replicate the success Gasol had in their system as a stretch big man. Unfortunately, things have not gone the way the Raptors had hoped and Baynes has been close to non-existent on the court for them. 

Baynes averaged 11.5 points, 5.6 rebounds and shot 35.1% from three-point range last season with the Phoenix Suns, but this year with Toronto, Baynes is only averaging 3.8 points, 4.7 rebounds and is shooting 18.2% from three-point range through 11 games. Since his first two games of the season, the veteran big man has failed to score over 8 points in a game and has seen over 20 minutes on the court just twice. 

As a result of his struggles and the emergence of Chris Boucher, the Toronto Raptors will likely look to trade Aron Baynes at the trade deadline and with the Nets needing a big man, they could be a realistic destination for the 34-year old center. 

The only question for the Nets is who they would be willing to trade to acquire Baynes since Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and James Harden take up so much cap spending. They would have to free up just over $5.4M in cap space in order to take on Baynes’ contract and realistically, the only way they could hypothetically make space for him is if they traded either DeAndre Jordan or Jeff Green. 

Both guys hold important roles for the Nets, especially now given their lack of depth in the frontcourt, so going for a guy who is owed $7M this season may not be ideal. Given his history being an aggressive rebounder and the ability to stretch the court, Aron Baynes would be a nice fit next to the Nets superstar trio, but at the end of the day, they would likely have to give up too much to get him.