Detroit Pistons Trade Rumors: Aron Baynes Still Undecided on Player Option
With the National Basketball Association (NBA) salary cap at an all-time high, a lot of players are expected to opt out of the final year of their deal this summer in order to cash in and secure a better contract.
Some players have already decided to become free agents this offseason, but others still haven't decided if they want to opt out of their player options. Detroit Pistons backup center Aron Baynes belongs to this second group of players and he's still considering his options right now.
Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press has reported that the center's agent said his client will likely wait until close to the June 20 deadline to make a decision.
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"I would anticipate he would take all that time," Entersport Management president Marc Fleisher told the Detroit Free Press.
Baynes probably wants to weigh in all his options before he makes a big decision like this, so he's doing the right thing by waiting. He will make $6.5-million for the 2017–2018 season if he decides to opt into the final year of his current contract. However, he will probably make more than that if he becomes a free agent.
"Baynes could do better than $6.5 million, considering the deals signed last off-season by backup big men Ian Mahinmi, Timofey Mozgov and Bismack Biyombo," Ellis said in his report.
"If he opts out, the Pistons would be hampered to retain him since they only own his early Bird rights. The team could re-sign Baynes, who only has been under contract for two seasons, despite being over the cap, but can only offer a 175% raise, about $11.3 million for next season," he continued.
Baynes isn't going to impress anyone with his numbers, but he has been a solid backup big in the past two seasons for the Pistons.
The Pistons can actually let him leave since they already have Boban Marjanović on their roster. At any rate, it's going to be a busy offseason for Pistons president/head coach Stan Van Gundy.
