Sure, we don’t want to delve too much into existential despair, but the play on words in the title was very low-hanging fruit. And what is the point of low-hanging fruit other than to reach for it and then eat it? If only Adam and Eve had made this argument, Harambe would still be alive today people. And speaking of despair, the “North” has had some recent health issues with both Kyle Lowry (toe) & Pascal Siakam (knee) which will likely open up minutes for this week and quite possibly more. With that in mind, and still no solid prognosis for what might be substantial time out for Siakam specifically as of this writing, we’ll be taking a look at Aron Baynes, who was a fringe streaming/bench piece before, but will have elevated himself to starter since Sunday. Now, if only I could find a pun that works with Kelly Oubre and existential crises…crisisies…crisisiest? I’m sure they all work…
| Summary | MIN | PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-21 | 16.3 | 3.8 | 4.8 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.8 |
| 2019-20 | 22.2 | 11.5 | 5.6 | 1.6 | 0.2 | 0.5 | 1.2 |
| Career | 15.8 | 5.9 | 4.5 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 0.5 | 0.9 |
So I’ll obviously let others talk about Norman Powell, he is probably the other Raptor who will see the biggest benefits other than Baynes. I can state it’s not that I dislike Powell, it’s just that I have no idea who else the Raptors would run out there as the five most of the time. The Alex Len experiment recently ended, never really a match with Nick Nurse’s small-ball and defense mentality, and it’s important to remember that not only is Siakam out right now due to knee issues, but groin issues previously had been affecting him.
Baynes has an unspectacular skill set and I won’t try and make the argument that he will become a rotation mainstay, but for bench relief, streaming, and positional depth (depending on your team’s makeup), there could be some middling points, average to good rebounds, and a few three’s here and there. That’s a far cry from when he was announced the official starter back in December and hasn’t really shown a fantasy rhythm for minutes, but now that’s less of an issue. In the starts he has played at least 20 minutes, he’s managed to net at least five field goals, and in all but one of those games, attempted three 3-pointers.
That’s not going to set your world on fire, but keep in mind also that he brings with him rebound potential, and I wouldn’t sleep on his assists, at least contextually. And it’s not like he wasn’t able to pull a 10/5 last season, and again, that was with 20+ minutes a game.
Again, this whole post has to be taken with a grain of salt, it’s always a chore in describing fringe value, and that’s okay. Making two baskets in a game versus making five probably doesn’t make much of a difference during the season, but for those who have gaps of non-production on their team, or are trying to squeeze every ounce of production by actively streaming, Baynes might be in a perfect situation to go from afterthought to maybe I’ll hold onto you a week. I think that’s okay. And hey, just remember, if you feel bad about running Baynes out there in your starting lineup, just remember that someone out there owns Kelly Oubre and you’ll feel better.
Maybe.
Jay is a longtime Razzball everything consumes an egregious amount of Makers Mark as a vehicle to gain wisdom and augment his natural glow. Living in the D.C. area, he also likes spending time visiting the local parks and feeding lettuce to any turtles he encounters, including Mitch McConnell. You can follow him @jaywrong.
