NBA Rumors: LA Lakers Must Lock Up Andrew Bynum, Forget About Dwight Howard
The Los Angeles Lakers should forget about trying to re-interest Dwight Howard and instead focus on locking up Andrew Bynum for the long term. It might seem crazy, but there are two good reasons why this is the best course of action for the Lakers.
First, there's a history there. Think about Kobe Bryant, and how much it means to the Lakers nation that he's never worn another uniform.
Now think about all the great Lakers centers that have come and gone over the years. Shaquille O'Neal, Kareem Abdul Jabbar and Wilt Chamberlain all have the same thing in common—they started their careers elsewhere. It's a better basketball move, and it's a better PR move.
There is something special about Bynum in that he is a center who was drafted by the Lakers. The only great Lakers center who played his entire career with the Lakers is George Mikan, who spent his entire career with the Minneapolis Lakers.
The best centers the Lakers have ever drafted are Elden Cambell and Vlade Divac, which says more about who they've drafted than it does about Cambell or Divac. They were respectable enough players, but they are a long way from being the best centers of their generation.
Bynum has that potential. He's starting to realize it now. He's blossoming.
Already, he's very much in the discussion for best center in the NBA with Dwight Howard. Compare their per 36 minute stats, and there's really not a great deal of difference.
| Andrew Bynum | .579 | .665 | 12.8 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 2.1 | 2.7 | 1.7 | 18.1 |
| Dwight Howard | .576 | .483 | 13.8 | 1.8 | 1.4 | 2.0 | 3.1 | 2.7 | 19.6 |
Howard's numbers are slightly better, but he's the No. 1 option in his offense. Bynum, on the other hand, is the second or third option behind Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol.
Howard's usage percentage is 26.4 to Bynum's 22.6. That means that Howard is using about four more possessions per game but only getting 1.5 more points.
Howard is also two years older than Bynum. It's important to note that when you trade for a player, you get the next five years, not the last five years. Howard is only 26, but he's been playing since he was 19. Howard is already 48th all-time in free-throw attempts, and he's moving up that ladder rapidly.
Since he's come into the league, he's been fouled more than any player in the league, and with Howard, these are hard fouls, the type of fouls that eventually wore down Shaquille O'Neal.
I'm not predicting a collapse here, but it's not unreasonable to think that over the next four years, Bynum, who is starting to gain traction for his career finally, will outplay Howard.
To have a center who leads the Lakers to a championship, who becomes the most coveted player in the league and who was brought up as a Laker, rather than usurped by the Lakers, would be a refreshing change.
It's a great basketball move for the Lakers to keep Bynum, but it's a great PR move as well. He could be the "Kobe Bryant" of their centers, a great player who wears the Lakers purple and gold his entire career.
