One veteran player who won’t be a long-term solution for the Knicks, but could be the kind of piece that helps prove beneficial in both a production and mentoring role is Aron Baynes.
The eight-year veteran is coming out of one of his best statistical seasons, reaching career highs in points, rebounds and assists while playing for the Suns. While his usage rate had a lot to do with this, there was one modification to his game that could prove quite valuable in the open market: the three-point shot.
Baynes has gone from being a great man who occasionally throws a three to someone who throws four per game. Perhaps it would be the perfect model for Mitchell Robinson who has been reluctant to show his perimeter footage outside of isolated training videos.
While Baynes uses more brute force than Robinson currently possesses, the little things the veteran big man does well are all things Robinson must master to take his game to the next level. That is, setting up screens, stabbing, finding the right places to stand on the court as the attack moves around him and expanding your attack to develop an outside shot.
The challenge in adding Baynes for manager Tom Thibodeau would be juggling his lineups to use the veteran in his natural position without sacrificing playing time for Mitchell Robinson. As long as Baynes continues to improve his perimeter shot, it’s possible he could play alongside Mitch as a big spacer, but that would create pairing problems on defense.