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Yahoo’s Shams Charania reported Sunday night that All of Australia is back in Boston. Aron Baynes will return to the Celtics as expected on a 2-year, $11 million deal using non-Bird rights.
Free agent center Aron Baynes has agreed to a two-year, $11M deal to return to the Boston Celtics, league sources tell Yahoo.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 1, 2018
After Baynes represented Boston at the NBA awards and Danny Ainge spoke following the NBA Draft about the team’s desire to retain Baynes, the long-rumored rapid reunion occurred minutes after free agency.
Staying where I wanted to be!! Last year added fuel to the bleed green banner 18 ☘️☘️☘️
— Aron Baynes (@aronbaynes) July 1, 2018
CelticsBlog’s Keith Smith reported the second year of Baynes’ deal is a player option.
Now one of the two significant free agents who entered the market from the C’s is back in the fold, but don’t expect Marcus Smart’s return to occur as rapidly.
Source: While there is belief Boston and Aron Baynes can reach a deal fairly quickly, it may take longer with Marcus Smart. Both Smart and the Celtics hope to come to an agreement, but no rush from either side. Source said "It will happen when it happens."
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) July 1, 2018
Adding Baynes to Boston’s salary under the announced luxury tax threshold of $123 million raises the Celts to $112.9 million on the books for the 2018-19 season. They’ll also add first-round pick Robert Williams, who projects to make $1.3 million this year. With that in mind, under $11 million remains for Smart if Boston wants to avoid the tax, though doing so may be unavoidable now.