WALTHAM, Mass. (AP) -- Aron Baynes and Marcus Morris are happy to be coming to Boston at the same time, if only so they don't have to play against each other.
Baynes signed with the Celtics as a free agent on Wednesday, and he already has a familiar face in the team's locker room: Morris, who was acquired in a trade for Avery Bradley on July 7. Baynes said Morris "brings a lot of toughness" to the court, and Celtics assistant general manager Mike Zarren said the 6-foot-10 Australian can do the same.
"Red Auerbach said, `Get the instigators, not the retaliators,"' Zarren said before introducing Baynes to the media. "He's definitely an instigator."
The two former Pistons shared the day, with the Celtics announcing Baynes' signing an hour before a media call with Morris. Bradley, the longest-tenured member of the team and the only remnant from the New Big Three era, needed to go to clear the salary cap space for prize free agent catch Gordon Hayward.
Baynes and Morris join a team that earned the No. 1 seed in the East last season but lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the conference finals in five games. Baynes, who averaged 15.5 minutes last season for a team that missed the playoffs, said coming to Boston was "a basketball decision."
"Hopefully, I'm a piece that helps them bring the puzzle together," he said. "You always want to be able to play more. I didn't see myself having much bigger a role than I've had the past two years."
An undrafted free agent who won an NBA title with the Spurs in 2014, Baynes averaged 5.2 points and 4.1 rebounds in his five-year career. He played in 75 games last year for the Pistons, starting two, averaging 4.9 points and 4.4 rebounds.
After working out at the team's facility in the morning, Baynes came out to greet children at a basketball camp taking place on the practice court. A noted BBQ enthusiast who tweeted out a request for recommendations in the area, Baynes said he hadn't tried the local offerings yet.
"There's a few lobster rolls around here," he said.
Morris averaged 14 points last season in Detroit, where he was a mainstay in the starting lineup. He saw the Celtics up close while watching his twin brother, Markieff, play for the Wizards in a seven-game Eastern Conference semifinal series against Boston last year.
Morris said coming to Boston cushioned the blow of being traded.
"How can I be upset about being a Boston Celtic?" he said. "At the end of the day, I'm a competitor. I want to play against the best. I want to play for championships."
Morris said he reached out to longtime Celtics star Paul Pierce after learning he was traded.
"He said I'm going to love it," said Morris, who like Pierce went to Kansas. "That's all I needed to hear."
