Aron Baynes spent the previous two seasons with the Boston Celtics before the team traded him, along with the draft rights to Ty Jerome, to the Phoenix Suns for a 2020 protected first-round pick. Even though he is with the Suns now, Baynes is closely monitoring the progress of former teammates Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown and expects big things from them in the future.
Baynes believes that the pair will reach superstar status in the NBA in the next couple of years, but also wants to show them who’s the boss when Team USA meets Australia in an exhibition game this week. The 32-year-old former Detroit Pistons center is particularly impressed with Tatum and is delighted with his offensive potential as well as his determination to improve defensively.
Baynes, Bubbles & the rest of the @BasketballAus Boomers are ready to take on @usabasketball…
Whether 🇺🇸 are ready for those @aronbaynes screens remains to be seen though.#GoBoomers pic.twitter.com/cjLpMiKz1s
— NBL (@NBL) August 19, 2019
“Definitely [he’s ready to reach superstar status],” Baynes said. “He’s so talented – even from the first day I played with him when he was a rookie in his first preseason, you could see how talented he was offensively and he also wants to work on the defensive end which isn’t common in the NBA – some guys live on that offensive talent but he wants to develop his all-round game. He’s going to be a fun one to continue to watch.
“Those younger guys [Tatum and Brown] are thirsty to go out and improve their game and there’s no better place than the summer time playing international ball against some of the best players in the world. Those guys are still in their rookie contracts and they’re looking to prove themselves over the next couple of years and they definitely have all the tools to do it. They’re competitors, I’ve played against them all the time in practice and I know what they’re capable of … and it’s fun to play alongside them. But right now they’re wearing the wrong colors and I’m not going to take a backward step against them.”]
Baynes knows his former Boston Celtics teammates very well, and three of them will be playing for Team USA in the upcoming friendly games with Australia and FIBA World Cup in China. He is convinced that his knowledge of Tatum, Brown and Marcus Smart will help Australia prepare well for the Americans.
🏀 | Standby for fireworks: Aron Baynes says Boomers will ‘come out swinging at Team USA’ at Marvel Stadium@NickSmart5https://t.co/d9xEMhY9mD pic.twitter.com/RF2x148CL6
— Herald Sun Sport (@heraldsunsport) August 19, 2019
“Our scouting is done really well,” he told ESPN. “We understand people’s tendencies and what they feel comfortable doing most – there’s a few nuances I might be able to share with the guys but overall we’ve all watched them and we know what most guys want to do. It’s about taking away their best looks and make them take a secondary shot, and if we can do that for the full 40 minutes then we should be in good stead.”
