Interview: Aron Baynes on the NBA

Not a bad interview with Australian/New Zealander Aron Baynes about his time so far with the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA.

Interview: Aron Baynes on the NBA

30.10.13

By Nick Metallinos in New York

Image: Getty Images

It would, naturally, be tough for any professional player to go from playing regular rotation minutes, to sporadic minutes. For Aron Baynes, the 6’10 Australian, the transition to the NBA was made smoother with the situation he found himself in.

 

Some may say it was serendipitous, but if you follow the Spurs’ organisation, you’ll know that nothing is left to chance when it comes to their player selection. Nothing is left to chance.

 

Yes, Baynes found himself at the end of a deep San Antonio bench, but his Boomers teammate Patty Mills, and then-national team coach, Brett Brown, were there to help guide him through the rigors of the NBA schedule. Oh, and it doesn’t hurt when you have one of the game’s greatest big men, Tim Duncan, to learn from while playing on a championship-calibre team.

 

Basketball Australia caught up with Baynes just before the 2013-14 season was set to begin to get his thoughts on last season, and what lies ahead.

 

Basketball Australia: Firstly, how was your summer? What did you spend it doing?

 

Aron Baynes: It was good. I spent a lot of time in San Antonio, played in the Summer League, and worked out here the rest of the time. I had a lot of time to get better, worked with big guys like, Tim Duncan and Tiago Splitter. It’s been good to be here and be able to develop my game.

Click here for the full interview: Basketball Australia : Interview: Aron Baynes on the NBA

Penney Happy to be Back Home

Here's the Kirk Penney update, unfortunately he was cut by the San Antonio Spurs and his dream of returning to the NBA looks to be over.

"Making it" in the NBA is often about being in the right place at the right time and like many of his NBL counterparts (Gaze, Heal, Anstey, etc), it seems that Kirk just couldn't find that place. The NBA's loss in the NBL's gain and it will be great to watch Kirk in action this season.

(Click on the title to read the full story)

National Basketball League: Penney Happy to be Back Home

Kirk Penney is back with the Burger King NZ Breakers after exhausting his options to play in the NBA and he doesn’t regret a moment of his time and effort.

Penney was given leave of absence by the Breakers to pursue his dream of returning to the NBA to add to his brief stints earlier in his career. An opportunity was extended to attend veterans camp with the San Antonio Spurs but when that was cut short and nothing else was forthcoming for the 30 year old shooting guard, he made the decision to return to the Breakers.

Clearly it has been an emotional time for the former ANBL MVP but he knows he has returned ‘home’ and is focused on doing well with the Breakers.

“Getting into the NBA was my dream, I had an awesome time with the Spurs and feel like I gave it my best shot, but it wasn’t to be. Staying on the extra week after being cut gave me the mental space to prepare to return to the Breakers and the ANBL. I’m excited to be back with the Breakers, home to the team and the club I love.”

Kirk Penney one step closer to an NBA return

I got word a few days ago that Kirk Penney has been signed by the San Antonio Spurs. Going from the article below, he's actually been signed to the training camp roster, so he's still in with a shot of making the roster.

He's got a long way to go yet but if he can bring his World Championship form with him to camp, there's no reason he won't get picked up. As any Aussie who's been to the NBA will tell you, its about being in the right situation at the right time, hopefully this is it for Kirk.

Who Is Kirk Penney? | Air Alamo | A San Antonio Spurs Blog

Those of you may have known by now that Kirk Penney has made his way to the Spurs training camp roster. You maybe asking to yourself who is Kirk Penney?

Lucky for you we will be glad to share the information in which we have compiled.

Penney is a sharp shooter out of New Zealand and made an impression on the Spurs scouts as training camp is underway.

At the recent World Championship Penney averaged 24.7 points per game putting him second overall in the tournament in scoring and more per game than USA’s Kevin Durant.

Okay, okay so he is not Kevin Durant status but the kid can obviously shoot the rock and that is what we need on our roster.

Penney who has been signed to the training camp roster can now be offered a deal. It will though be a challenge for Penney as he is expected to go head-to-head with Gary Neal whom led the Spurs summer league team in scoring. Both are great shooters but many would give the upper hand to Penney given his international experience.

Before making his way to the states, Penney told media that he wanted to give this one last shot to see if he had what it takes to make it to the big time.

“I have to see if I have what it takes to make it in the toughest professional league in the world,” Penney said.

“There is no guarantee of an offer at the end of this process (but) it is up to me to impress the right people and show I can be of some value to the Spurs. I am going to give it my best shot and have no regrets.”