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Summary
At the start of the '19-'20 season, Baynes had maybe the best run of his career while DeAndre Ayton was suspended for the use of a banned substance. He had the best shooting stretch of his career, being a legitimate threat from outside and serving as a solid rim protector. That started to fade as the season went on, and continued throughout this past season. The three point shooting fell off a cliff, as he hit 26%.

It also looks like age might have caught up to Baynes, who will be going into his age 35 season in '21-'22. He hasn't been moving well, and isn't the defensive presence inside that the Raptors hoped he would be when they signed him to replace the departed Marc Gasol.

The Raptors took Baynes out of the starting lineup, often going small with Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby as the bigs. Baynes is likely back to being a backup-level big like he was in his younger days in San Antonio and Detroit, but I think he could still be a contributor at that role.
 
Cap Considerations
Baynes's $7.4 million salary for 2021-2022 is non-guaranteed, and if he is waived he will become an unrestricted free agent and the Raptors will have no form of Bird rights on him.  The Raptors may waive Baynes in order to maximize their cap space. The 2021 free agency class is looking less spectacular than it once did, but I would still expect them to waive Baynes.

Also, keep in mind that last year the Knicks waived Elfrid Payton and were able to bring him back at a lower number, so the Raptors could try to do the same if they don't think he's worth the $7.4 million.

If Baynes becomes a free agent, other teams will have multiple ways to sign him as even teams without cap space could possibly use either of the Non-Taxpayer MLE, Taxpayer MLE, or possibly even the Room MLE to sign him. It's also possible that Baynes is only able to get the minimum.

Potential Teams: Cavaliers, Kings, Raptors, Hornets, Mavericks

Predicted Contract: 1-year, $4.9 million with the Cavaliers

Last updated: 6/23/2021

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