Andrew Bynum Ready to Take the Torch from Kobe Bryant?

By now, most have read about how Andrew Bynum is immature and not there mentally. How he is not listening to the coaching staff and getting benched and/or ejected from games. 

Was this the same 17-year-old who was drafted with the 10th pick? Was this the same 3.8 GPA student who wanted to major in chemistry if he went to college?

Bynum is obviously a very intelligent young man who was touted for being able to receive and follow instructions by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. So, it goes without saying that he can process what people are saying about him in the papers and television.

So why is he acting like this? Why not just fall in line and not cause any conflict? 

After being swept in last year's playoffs, when asked about Bynum getting a bigger role on offense, Kobe Bryant responded to Yahoo! Sports, “Ultimately, he’ll have to fall in line. Because I’m gonna shoot the ball. We all know that. Pau is going to get his touches. He’s No. 2. And then [Andrew] will have to fall in line.” 

It's no secret that Bynum wanted his own team. Therefore, he played it nicely and fell in line, believing that he would ultimately be dealt to Orlando by the trade deadline. When the trade did not happen, Bynum decided that he would never inherit the franchise from Kobe Bryant by falling in line. 

It is very difficult for franchise players to pass the torch to the next generation. Remember how Kobe took the keys to the franchise from Shaq? Remember all the turmoil? Remember the articles about how Kobe was shooting too much? Remember Phil Jackson famously calling Kobe "uncoachable" in his book? Well, what if Bynum is going through that phase right now?

Bryant is not going to give you anything unless it's earned. You have to take it from his tight grip. It takes a franchise player to take the torch from someone like Kobe. A franchise player believes that every time he steps out on the court, he is the best player on that floor.

Right now, Bynum feels like he is the best player on the floor every time he is out there. He believes he can do anything he wants out on the floor and can dominate the game with his offense. 

In fact, here are Bynum's stats month by month:

Dec (1 game): 29 points, 13 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 blocks, 1 steal 
Jan: 15.8 points, 12.1 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 1.9 blocks, 0.4 steals 
Feb: 15.7 points, 13.7 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 2.3 blocks, 0.5 steals 
Mar: 22.2 points, 10.9 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.9 blocks, 0.4 steals 
Apr: 21.7 points, 11.7 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 1.3 blocks, 0.4 steals 

The way Bynum is playing right now, I don't know if there are 10 players in the league I would exchange for him. Having a big man that is able to dominate in the post-up area is a benefit that only one other team can boast about. Add in the fact that he can hit his free throws and therefore can be a threat in the fourth quarter, and he becomes even scarier than Dwight Howard.

When Bryant was asked by Kevin Ding of OC Register what he thought about Bynum shooting a three-pointer, he replied,"I think he was testing the limits of his game,"  and "[i]t's somewhat amusing to me, because in some ways the edginess and the chippiness of him make it easy for me to relate to him – because I had some of that when I was young,"

Bynum is in the phase where he wants to test exactly how dominant he can be. He is playing with an attitude that exudes confidence. He is playing with an aggression only seen before in Shaq, not trying to be buddy-buddy like Howard. He has a mean streak that is very rare to see in today's league. He is putting both Kobe and the rest of the league on notice that he is ready to lead the franchise.  

Reading between the lines, Kobe most likely believes that Bynum needs more time to find himself before he passes the torch to him. Last playoffs, we witnessed Bynum taking the second option title from Gasol. Will we see Bynum taking the first option title and the keys to the franchise from Kobe during this playoff run? Only time will tell whether Bynum can mold himself physically—and most importantly, mentally—to be able to take the symbolic keys to the franchise.