Cedric Maxwell ‘100% confident’ Tatum extends; wants a Baynes reunion

Celtic champ and color commentator Cedric Maxwell thinks Jayson Tatum is a lock to extend in Boston, and wants to see Aron Baynes back on the Celtics.

With the arrival of the offseason for the Boston Celtics comes attempts at prognosticating their next moves, and few people not actually on the Celtics know the team better than former Boston forward and current color commentator Cedric Maxwell.

In a recent appearance on the popular local radio show Toucher and Rich, the Celtic champion weighed in on what he thought was going to happen in the team’s long- and short-term future.

The most important order of business will be extending All-NBA forward Jayson Tatum beyond his current rookie deal, now headed into its fourth and final season.

Does Maxwell think there’s any chance the Duke product will sign an extension with the team that drafted him?

“I’m 100% confident; I think he loves [coach] Brad [Stevens],” opined Cornbread, as Maxwell is often called.

“I think he loves his teammates, and I think he’s just in a great situation that he’s become a marquee player. Would you want to all of a sudden say ‘Okay, I want to go play with Kyrie Irving in Brooklyn, and become that third?'” But then, I think that he’s in a unique situation, or he’s young. He’s the man on this team. He’s going to be the man on this team. And he’s playing with a great guy in [Jaylen] Brown that I think compliments him so well, and allows him to be who wants to be.”

“So yeah — I’m very confident that he stays,” added Maxwell.

Maxwell also has his eyes on a particular player Celtics fans still have fond memories of having on the roster that he thinks a reunion might be just what the team needs.

“If I had my crystal ball, and I could pick out one guy who really changed what this team has done — and I’m not sure if he’s under contract or not, so it’s not be tampering — but Aron Baynes would have been really a good roadblock in the paint and some toughness that sometimes I don’t think the Celtics really had.”

This team was a finesse team,” noted Cornbread, “and when it came down to power basketball, I think that’s when teams just really took them to the woodshed.”

Baynes is indeed a free agent this offseason, so if both parties wanted it to happen, a reunion wouldn’t be out of the question.

It would however likely entail a fairly substantial pay cut over what he might be able to earn with another team after an excellent season with the Phoenix Suns, scoring a career-high 11.5 points and 5.6 rebounds per game in his new home while hitting an also-career high 35.4% of his 3s on 4 attempts a game.

While there may not be a ton of cap space around the league, Baynes ought to be able to land at least the $6 million (estimated) Taxpayer Mid-level Exception Boston will likely be able to offer with the Suns and elsewhere, with more minutes for him to play than he’ll likely see with the Celtics.

But if it’s a ring and camaraderie he wants next season, Maxwell might just be on to something.

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