What should the Lakers do with Bynum?

[La Bomba]

To me, he's one of the five best centers in the league when healthy, but he's never healthy. I don't think the Lakers will be able to beat the Heat this year if they don't have him at 100%. Do you think the Lakers may consider trading him for a less talented, but healthier center this season?

[Real Deal]

It doesn't necessarily have to be for a center. Gasol plays 37% of the team's minutes distributed at center (so about 18 a game?) and Drew hasn't really been that healthy in the NBA Finals in three seasons, yet we've won two of those three.

 

I actually wouldn't have been opposed to the Lakers trying to deal Drew for Melo. Odom is still a capable starter at the four, Caracter looks promising, and Gasol is really an excellent center.

 

But, aside from WHO, I wouldn't mind the Lakers exploring trades. Three knee surgeries. It's a problem.

[Warren2ThaG]

Is it weird if I want Hibbert?

[kingfish]

Nothing. Keep him man, give him one more shot. Wow.

[Real Deal]

Nothing. Keep him man, give him one more shot. Wow.

Well, he's 0-3 over the last three seasons. This should probably be his last shot. We'll see how many of the 82 games he plays, and just how healthy he is for the playoffs.

[AboveLegit]

The reason why the Lakers have the advantage on so many teams is because of their size. They have to keep Bynum because he feeds off of Pau and Odom. They don't need a great PG, they don't need a Melo type player.

[The Regime]

Nothing. Keep him man, give him one more shot. Wow.

 

I agree. No doubt he's injury prone, but when healthy he makes an impact in a big way. He has loads of upside so we should give him one more season to prove himself. If he goes down again this season, then I would contemplate trading him. Right now our frontcourt is the biggest advantage against the Heat, so I don't want to mess that up.

Edited September 25, 2010 by Confidence

[Check my Stats]

well the longer the wait, and the more the injuries pile up, the less they are going to get for him. he is awesome but it isn't like he is playing 38 minutes a game and getting worn down, he is just made of glass.

 

if I am a GM, at this point, I am not taking a flyer on Andrew Bynum. if I am the Lakers I IR his [expletive] until the finals.

[Nitro]

The reason why the Lakers have the advantage on so many teams is because of their size. They have to keep Bynum because he feeds off of Pau and Odom. They don't need a great PG, they don't need a Melo type player.

 

I agree, but the thing is the Lakers have won plenty of very important playoff series' with him on the sidelines or limping/playing minimal minutes. Gasol is a very capable Center (IMO he's more of a C than PF in today's NBA, anyway), and Odom is a beast on the boards while offering the team a lot of versatility. As much of an advantage as it is to have Bynum alongside Pau, it is not necessary, and the possibility of getting good talent in return that will play and be healthy for the post-season would be even better for the team.

[AboveLegit]

I agree, but the thing is the Lakers have won plenty of very important playoff series' with him on the sidelines or limping/playing minimal minutes. Gasol is a very capable Center (IMO he's more of a C than PF in today's NBA, anyway), and Odom is a beast on the boards while offering the team a lot of versatility. As much of an advantage as it is to have Bynum alongside Pau, it is not necessary, and the possibility of getting good talent in return that will play and be healthy for the post-season would be even better for the team.

Yeah but what's better than having two 7'0 centers on a team with a 6'11 point forward on the bench? It really doesn't get better than that. They're the only team with that much versatility, and it's scary. The Lakers are set at every position, and there's no guarantee that Bynum will be injured every season. Yeah you can base your predictions off his track record, but as soon as he plays one full season in this league, they will regret it completely.

 

And while I agree the Lakers have won plenty of series without him, they also managed to win game 7 because of their size. If they face the Heat in the finals (which is likely), you're going to need all the size you can get to stop LeBron, Wade, and Bosh, all three that rely on attacking the basket.

[Nitro]

and there's no guarantee that Bynum will be injured every season. Yeah you can base your predictions off his track record, but as soon as he plays one full season in this league, they will regret it completely.

 

See, his track-record isn't something you can just disregard. In the last 3 seasons he's played 35, 50 and 65 games. He didn't play at all in the 2008 post-season, and in the last 2 post-seasons he hasn't been able to crack 7.0RPG because of injuries.

 

Knowing all that, on top of the fact that he's coming off yet ANOTHER injury and will be missing around a month to kick off this new season, where is the cut-off point to say, "Enough's enough?" The major issue is that as the Lakers keep going with this experiment, if he piles up more injuries his trade-value will continue to plummet. Right now he's attractive enough that teams will even consider trading a Melo or Bosh for a Bynum package deal. Since the Lakers have already proven 3 years in a row they can win without him/with him being limited, why not deal him off and get some good (potentially very good), reliable players in return?

[Real Deal]

And while I agree the Lakers have won plenty of series without him, they also managed to win game 7 because of their size. If they face the Heat in the finals (which is likely), you're going to need all the size you can get to stop LeBron, Wade, and Bosh, all three that rely on attacking the basket.

That's definitely not true, at all. Drew was trash that game, and we were down by 12 when Drew was subbed out for Lamar (third quarter, 7:43) and Drew never returned after that. Bryant scored 14 points and pulled down 7 rebounds after that, and Gasol scored 13 points and pulled down 8 boards. Artest was a defensive monster, and both Fisher and Odom came up big as well.

 

From 7:43 in the 3rd quarter (down 12) until the rest of the game, Bynum sat the bench...and we rallied to win the game without him logging a single second.

 

Drew didn't do anything...18 minutes, two points, six rebounds, no assists (because he NEVER passes out of the post), no blocks, pathetic help and on-ball defense.

 

We won Game 7 because of our superstar, our all-star and our defense.

[AboveLegit]

See, his track-record isn't something you can just disregard. In the last 3 seasons he's played 35, 50 and 65 games. He didn't play at all in the 2008 post-season, and in the last 2 post-seasons he hasn't been able to crack 7.0RPG because of injuries.

I think that Bynum's injuries for the most part have been freak accidents, with this I mean, yeah, he's injury prone but some people make it seem more than what he really is, after all, Bryant crashed into his knee and Lamar Odom was part of his first big injury, this last one was his "fault" but it wasn't a biggie, the timing was the crappy thing about it.

 

Knowing all that, on top of the fact that he's coming off yet ANOTHER injury and will be missing around a month to kick off this new season, where is the cut-off point to say, "Enough's enough?" The major issue is that as the Lakers keep going with this experiment, if he piles up more injuries his trade-value will continue to plummet. Right now he's attractive enough that teams will even consider trading a Melo or Bosh for a Bynum package deal. Since the Lakers have already proven 3 years in a row they can win without him/with him being limited, why not deal him off and get some good (potentially very good), reliable players in return?

I'd rather see him miss time in the beginning of the season than seeing him get hurt midway through the year. I watched the PJax press conference and he mentioned that he's going to experiment with Bynum playing in 7-8 minute spurts throughout the games and see how he handles himself. We're probably going to end up seeing them take the approach the Rockets are taking with Yao, and that's completely fine, because like you said, we know the Lakers don't need him. When the playoffs roll around, the Lake show will be going strong and will have a much stronger bench as opposed to last year.

 

The Lakers are built so that they don't need one man exerting all his energy night in and night out. It's why Bryant still has a good 5 years or so left in his career. Pau, Ron and Odom are near the same age, Fish already has his replacement set with Steve Blake, and if the Bynum experiment works out in their favor, they will be set for a long time.

 

I am a big fan of chemistry, I absolutely hate bringing in players when it's not necessary. The Lakers are the defending champs, they shouldn't even consider bringing in a big name guy. Everything is set in place for them to three peat, and I'm going to go ahead and say this team coming into the season is stronger than last years.

[AboveLegit]

That's definitely not true, at all. Drew was trash that game, and we were down by 12 when Drew was subbed out for Lamar (third quarter, 7:43) and Drew never returned after that. Bryant scored 14 points and pulled down 7 rebounds after that, and Gasol scored 13 points and pulled down 8 boards. Artest was a defensive monster, and both Fisher and Odom came up big as well.

 

From 7:43 in the 3rd quarter (down 12) until the rest of the game, Bynum sat the bench...and we rallied to win the game without him logging a single second.

 

Drew didn't do anything...18 minutes, two points, six rebounds, no assists (because he NEVER passes out of the post), no blocks, pathetic help and on-ball defense.

 

We won Game 7 because of our superstar, our all-star and our defense.

It's not true that the Lakers won game 7 because of their size? That Perkins injury was a huge loss for the Celtics, and the Lakers exploited it. While Drew may have been a non factor that game, you can't deny the fact that he is a vital piece to this team, and in years to come.

[Nitro]

I think that Bynum's injuries for the most part have been freak accidents, with this I mean, yeah, he's injury prone but some people make it seem more than what he really is, after all, Bryant crashed into his knee and Lamar Odom was part of his first big injury, this last one was his "fault" but it wasn't a biggie, the timing was the crappy thing about it.

 

Once or even twice it's a coincidence. Three years in a row missing so many games (about to be a fourth) is not just bad luck, and it's really hard to believe he'll pull a Zydrunas Ilgauskas and go from being extremely injury prone over the span of a few year to reliable. Guys with Bynum's size who are injury prone tend to never really get to the point of being reliable. For every season he might play 75+ games, he's just as likely to have 3 seasons of playing 60 or less. His career track record falls in line with that though process.

 

I'd rather see him miss time in the beginning of the season than seeing him get hurt midway through the year.

 

You just said yourself that some of his injuries "weren't his fault" or whatever (which happens a LOT to players with his size, i.e Yao), so how is him missing time early in the season due to surgery related to him missing time mid-season for a different injury?

 

I watched the PJax press conference and he mentioned that he's going to experiment with Bynum playing in 7-8 minute spurts throughout the games and see how he handles himself. We're probably going to end up seeing them take the approach the Rockets are taking with Yao, and that's completely fine, because like you said, we know the Lakers don't need him. When the playoffs roll around, the Lake show will be going strong and will have a much stronger bench as opposed to last year.

 

Bynum has averaged roughly 30MPG the last 3 seasons. Cut his minutes down and he's playing 7th/8th man minutes. And like you said, if freak (reoccuring) injuries are the problem, then he is still going to get injured regardless. His injuries for the most part are not a matter of wear and tear, although the decrease in minutes will help his in-game endurance.

 

And much like how I feel about the Yao situation, if a guy with so much trade value can only play 25MPG to potentially (key word) stay healthy, then it 's kind of silly to me to not deal him away. With Yao it is different because he's a franchise player and a marketing God, but with Bynum? Who the Lakers have essentially already won championships without/making limited impact? Trade his [expletive], get quality, reliable players in return.

 

The Lakers are built so that they don't need one man exerting all his energy night in and night out. It's why Bryant still has a good 5 years or so left in his career. Pau, Ron and Odom are near the same age, Fish already has his replacement set with Steve Blake, and if the Bynum experiment works out in their favor, they will be set for a long time.

 

That's a big gamble, because once those other guys decline, if Bynum is still having injury problems then his value will be too low to acquire a great player in return. If they managed that rumored Bynum for Bosh trade over the summer, or the current Bynum for Melo trade, then they'd have very young, WAY more proven talents to continue to keep the Lakers a contender.

[Real Deal]

It's not true that the Lakers won game 7 because of their size? That Perkins injury was a huge loss for the Celtics, and the Lakers exploited it. While Drew may have been a non factor that game, you can't deny the fact that he is a vital piece to this team, and in years to come.

Perkins getting injured was a blessing in disguise for the Celtics. Rasheed held Gasol to his lowest FG% in his Finals career, I believe (at least lowest in that series), and he even dropped 11 points, a total Perkins exceeded just five times in the 23 playoff games he played in (and once versus the Lakers).

 

It definitely wasn't the Sheed from Game 6, when he shot 0-7 and couldn't keep the ball out of the post (Gasol worked Boston over dishing passes to teammates that game).

 

That Game 7 wasn't won by our size, it was won by our desire to play defense and attack the rim. Bryant and Gasol were the catalysts on offense, and Bryant and Artest were the defensive players that gave Boston all the trouble in the world in that final quarter.

 

Andrew Bynum is a vital piece to a championship team that wants to win 70 games and destroy the league, but he's not a vital piece to the last two championship teams in purple and gold. A healthy Drew, putting up potential 20/10 games here and there (not averaging, of course), would turn us into an invincible monster...but without him, we are still capable of the three-peat.

 

In fact, if we lost Drew for the entire season AND the playoffs, we would still be in the Finals. That tells you enough concerning this season.

[Real Deal]

The Lakers are built so that they don't need one man exerting all his energy night in and night out.

If that were the case, Bryant wouldn't have to log 39 MPG like he did last season, not to mention throw up six game-winners and average 27 points per night, over 21 FGA per game.

 

Bryant played half the season (second half) with major injuries to his knee and his finger, both requiring him to sit and miss games...yet, he only sat for eight or nine.

 

If Drew was completely healthy and giving us 13-14 PPG, 8-9 RPG...Bryant wouldn't have had to grab 15 boards in Game 7 and play like he's playing his final NBA game of his career, nor would he have to play late in games because we'd be winning more games comfortably.

 

Winning rings is possible without Drew, but it's wearing Bryant down...probably wearing Gasol down as well. Do we need Drew? Not necessarily, if we dealt him for an all-star caliber player, because it would actually put us in a better position to rest our guys and not have them starving for energy in May and June.

[AboveLegit]

So explain to me why his trade value is so high? Don't you think NBA GM's haven't taken note of his track record, and used it as a reason for why not to trade for him?

 

Bynum missing time now allows him to fully get healthy before returning rather than rushing back to get back into the flow of things before making that long playoff run in May.

 

And you're forgetting that Bynum happens to play in Los Angeles. Marketing is the least of their worries, add that to the fact that they have the most recognized basketball player in the world. If track records are such a problem, why haven't the Blazers given up on Oden? Because while he has a history of terrible injuries apparently dating back to the seventh grade, they have seen what he can do when he's healthy. They refuse to move on because they know what a force he can become if they just stay patient with him. As soon as Bynum makes the All-Star team you'd be calling for Kupchak's head.

 

Trading Bynum for some talent now will help in the immediate and possibly long term future, but if Gasol gets injured you have no Bynum to get Gasol's touches inside or draw double team. I know you remember the days when Lamar Odom was the Laker offensive-post presence... not good days.

[Nitro]

So explain to me why his trade value is so high? Don't you think NBA GM's haven't taken note of his track record, and used it as a reason for why not to trade for him?

 

Age and very small pool of talented NBA Centers. The Lakers have an All-Star caliber C in Gasol, and a near All-Star level PF in Odom. It makes the Lakers' need for him minimal. For other teams he's attractive and talented enough, especially at his position, to gamble on.

 

Bynum missing time now allows him to fully get healthy before returning rather than rushing back to get back into the flow of things before making that long playoff run in May.

 

Well, duh...if he's gotta miss time he's gotta miss time to recover from surgery. However, it'll mark the 4th season in a row where he'll be missing significant amount of games, and that's no coincidence. And once he recovers from the surgery he'll still be equally as succeptible to those "freak" injuries that always seem to sideline him.

 

And you're forgetting that Bynum happens to play in Los Angeles. Marketing is the least of their worries, add that to the fact that they have the most recognized basketball player in the world.

 

You're not getting the point. Yao is absolutely critical to Houston's exposure, especially on the international level. He rakes them in so much cash. That is why, along with being a franchise player, even though he has that stupid 24MPG limit he's still worth to retain. Bynum, however, does nothing to bring LA in money via marketing and it's proven he's not vital to the team's success. That's why trading him makes a ton of sense as opposed to Yao.

 

If track records are such a problem, why haven't the Blazers given up on Oden? Because while he has a history of terrible injuries apparently dating back to the seventh grade, they have seen what he can do when he's healthy. They refuse to move on because they know what a force he can become if they just stay patient with him. As soon as Bynum makes the All-Star team you'd be calling for Kupchak's head.

 

Two completely different situations...

 

1) Blazers haven't gone anywhere without him, and don't have the kind of talent to simply fill in the gaps if they trade him away. He's a major piece to their puzzle if they are to ever get over that first round hump. The Lakers meanwhile have essentially needed Bynum putting up Kwame Brown numbers to win championships, and have 3 All-Star near/All-Star starting front court players to fill in the gaps.

 

2) Blazers are still trying to save face for picking Oden over Durant.

 

Trading Bynum for some talent now will help in the immediate and possibly long term future, but if Gasol gets injured you have no Bynum to get Gasol's touches inside or draw double team. I know you remember the days when Lamar Odom was the Laker offensive-post presence... not good days.

 

I also remember in those days they had Smush, Mihm and Kwame surrounding Kobe/Odom. Now they have Artest, Fisher, Blake, Barnes, and Ratliff helping those two out if Gasol happened to go down.

 

And the chance of one of the NBA's more reliable big men missing a ton of games or the post-season is far, far slimmer than Bynum doing the same.

[Real Deal]

So explain to me why his trade value is so high? Don't you think NBA GM's haven't taken note of his track record, and used it as a reason for why not to trade for him?

Because he's a true center that COULD post 20/10 a night as a second option.

 

How high do you think his value will be if he misses half of this season?

 

Bynum missing time now allows him to fully get healthy before returning rather than rushing back to get back into the flow of things before making that long playoff run in May.

The Lakers eventually lost home court advantage to the Magic last season, and it happened near the end of the year (in April). They lost home court to Cleveland. They NEARLY lost it to Dallas, and within the last 2-3 games, could've. There were must-win games for us nearing the end of the season, just to keep HCA in our conference, let alone for the Finals.

 

If Boston had HCA last season, and we went into their arena for Game 6 and Game 7...who do you think would be holding the Larry O'Brien?

 

The first 18 games of the season count. Eight of them are on the road. Last season, our first 21 games included just four on the road.

 

Plus, they will try to bring him in early, still trying to heal up, like we always do. Bigger risk. He should've had the surgery a month earlier, right after the Finals, just as Phil Jackson said the other day (and Plaschke, and many others).

 

As soon as Bynum makes the All-Star team you'd be calling for Kupchak's head.

If it brings in someone like Melo, I wouldn't care because we'd still be winning rings.

 

Trading Bynum for some talent now will help in the immediate and possibly long term future, but if Gasol gets injured you have no Bynum to get Gasol's touches inside or draw double team. I know you remember the days when Lamar Odom was the Laker offensive-post presence... not good days.

If Gasol happens to go down, we don't win it all, so I could care less where we finish. Ring or bust.

 

And I really want you to watch some games with Drew getting touches. It's very, very important for you to see that he is an absolute BLACK HOLE in the post. That ball never, ever comes out. Drew had 25 of his 65 games with zero assists last season. That's with Kobe, Gasol, Fisher, Artest and Odom on his team.

 

He threw more than two assists in just six of those 65 games, never more than five assists (and did that just once).

 

He's the anti-triangle player, and he pushes Gasol out of the post (where Pau needs to be).

 

I think a lot of people are overrating what he does for us. He's got very good footwork, a decent baby hook. He can rebound, inconsistently. Other than that? Bad help defense, absolutely no passing abilities, no shot fakes, no jumper, foul trouble, lacks motivation, and he's slow.

 

Why is he an asset in the eyes of GM's around the league? The size, the belief that he can be a Shaq. Problem is, Drew doesn't even dunk the basketball, something Shaq did constantly.

 

Gasol is a much better player than Drew at the center position...more consistent, healthier, better help defense, maybe even better man defense (although Drew is more physical, so it depends on who we are playing). Gasol is a much better rebounder. Probably a better shot-blocker, statistically (won't look). By MILES, a better passer and teammate. By MILES, he's smarter, higher basketball IQ.

 

If I could choose what we do, I move Gasol up to center and trade Drew for a legit power forward. I wanted the Bosh deal to go through badly. It doesn't necessarily have to be a PF, but we want Odom coming off the bench.

[Multi-Billionaire]

Haha we would NOT deal Melo for Bynum why would we?

 

I used to like Bynum but his history of injuries can't be ignored. I wouldn't be surprised if the fear of another injury psychology effect has on him is bigger than the real injuries he has got.

 

I tell ya Nuggets would rather go with Gallinari, Randolph, and Douglas package offered by the Knicks... sigh

[Real Deal]

Haha we would NOT deal Melo for Bynum why would we?

 

I tell ya Nuggets would rather go with Gallinari, Randolph, and Douglas package offered by the Knicks... sigh

I was not aware that Stan Kroenke was posting on OTR. Good to hear from you, Stan.

 

Denver called LA to talk about a deal centered around Drew, just so you know. Melo listed Los Angeles as a destination, and did state the Lakers and Clippers both. Ford said that the new GM has made calls to every team on Melo's wishlist. There was a quote from a source (don't remember the Lakers site it originated from) that spoke of a deal that would send Drew, a pick and Ebanks or Caracter to Denver. The original rumor was that Denver wanted both Drew and Odom, which would be stupid on our part.