NBA Rumors: Why Lakers' Belief in Andrew Bynum Will Net Them a Title

Andrew Bynum used to always find his name in headlines alongside Dwight Howard.

Constantly being mentioned as a trade candidate and with rumors swirling around him, there was a strong belief that Bynum would eventually wind up in an Orlando uniform in a move that would bring Howard to Los Angeles.

Different scenarios of proposed deals made headlines, but general manager Mitch Kupchak never gave them any credence.

Maybe Kupchak and Jim Buss were prophetic. Maybe they knew that greatness awaited Bynum this year.

Or maybe they just got lucky.

Back in May of 2011, when Mike Brown was introduced as Phil Jackson's replacement, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports wrote a sharp column on how the Lakers should have consulted Kobe Bryant on Brown's hire.

Buried in the middle of the piece was an interesting nugget on how Jerry Buss' decision to turn the team over to his son, Jim, would impact the Lakers' decision-making moving forward.

From Wojnarowski:

"

Jim Buss has two guys in the franchise: Brown and Andrew Bynum. In fact, Buss has made something clear within the Lakers, sources say: Bynum is untouchable in trade talks.

After all, Bynum was Jim Buss’ discovery, his pet project and believes Bynum will ultimately resonate as the son’s personal Lakers legacy.

"

To me, this is fascinating.

Yes, it's true that we heard all sorts of rumors involving Bynum around the trade deadline.

But, many of those appeared fabricated, and it's rather amazing what "league sources" can say about a certain proposed deal after the deadline has passed.

Regardless, it's a moot discussion at this point.

The Lakers have been thrilled with what Bynum has brought to the team this season.

Although many have made it a point to tie the young center's emergence to Brown giving him more looks in the post, the overriding factor in Bynum blossoming has been the fact that he's remained healthy.

The 24-year-old turned in the most impressive season of his career.

Dominating games with his length beneath the basket, Bynum averaged 18.7 points, 11.8 rebounds and 1.9 blocks on 55.8 percent shooting.

The more telling statistic? Bynum missed just six regular season games. Four due to suspension (stemming from the J.J. Barea incident in the 2011 postseason), one due to a sprained ankle and the final game of the campaign for rest.

Notice something absent there? You should. Bynum didn't miss a single game with knee issues of any kind.

This kid has got a swagger about him that simply didn't exist previously. He's playing with a sky-high confidence level, and his effort level on both sides of the basketball is the best we've ever seen from him.

He doesn't need to score 20 points in a game to be dominant or to be a problem for the opposition.

A legitimate 7'1" and 285 lbs, Bynum is just too big for defenders to slow down when he gets favorable position down low.

Remember when some attempted to blow Bynum's immaturity out of the water? How about when some chose to discuss why Bynum would blow apart the Lakers' team chemistry?

I don't think so.

Bynum has become the glue to make this thing work. He's essential in everything the Lakers do, and it's going to have to remain that way for the foreseeable future.

He's been absolutely fantastic, and Bynum is a critical component to the Lakers winning it all.

In a season when Bryant finally embraced the idea of trusting Bynum, it's the big man who could very well be the deciding factor in the "Black Mamba" netting his sixth championship ring.

Now that would certainly be something.