NBA veteran Aron Baynes’ return to basketball is one step closer to reality with the 35-year-old reportedly agreeing to a two-year deal with the Brisbane Bullets in the NBL.
The contract has a provision that would allow Baynes to leave and return to the NBA.
He also received offers from clubs in Asia and Europe but the contracts did not offer him to opportunity to leave and take up an NBA deal, which is his ultimate goal.
Baynes has not played professional basketball since suffering a scary spinal injury during the Boomers’ bronze medal-winning campaign at the Tokyo Olympics but has been working towards a return to the game over the past 12 months.
The incident left Baynes hospitalised for two months where he was initially unable to walk.
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At Brisbane, he will link up with the likes of Nathan Sobey, Jason Cadee, and Harry Froling under head coach James Duncan.
The Bullets are fresh off a season where they went 10-18 to finish eighth on the ladder and miss the playoffs.
Baynes was born in Gisborne in northeastern New Zealand before moving to Mareeba, a rural town in Far North Queensland, as a three-year-old.
After spending time at Mareeba State High School and the Australian Institute of Sport, Baynes played four seasons at the University of Washington before going undrafted in the 2009 NBA Draft.
After overseas stops in Lithuania, Germany, Greece and Slovenia, Baynes made his NBA debut in January of 2013 with the San Antonio Spurs.
He played sparingly throughout San Antonio’s playoff run that season before earning a slightly bigger role on the Spurs’ championship-winning team the following season.
Following three seasons in San Antonio, he signed a multi-year deal with Detroit before making stops in Boston, Phoenix, and most recently Toronto.
Just three seasons ago, Baynes enjoyed a career year with the Suns where he averaged 11.5 points and 6.5 rebounds shooting 35.1 per cent on 4.0 three-point attempts per night.
