NBA Trade Rumors: Should the LA Lakers Send Andrew Bynum Packing?
As the trade deadline quickly approaches, trade rumors are reaching scorching temperatures.
Obviously, the hottest trade topic this entire season has been where Denver Nuggets superstar forward Carmelo Anthony will end up…if he even ends up somewhere else this season.
As the Lakers continue their up and down ways though, a new scenario is presenting itself.
The LA Lakers have the ability to win its third-consecutive NBA Championship. The pieces are all there—yet could the Lakers use Andrew Bynum to secure a championship this season and next?
Could they acquire Kobe Bryant’s successor?
This is what the Carmelo Anthony trade saga has brought upon us as last week’s rumors swirled that the Lakers were dangling Andrew Bynum in the center of trade discussions revolving Carmelo Anthony.
Yet should the Lakers really trade their potentially dominant, young center?
5. Yes: Injuries
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Some players, à la Greg Oden and Yao Ming, are just too big for the impact and punishment of a full NBA season. They are just destined to be injured for the majority of their careers.
Kobe Bryant’s days as an elite player are numbered and as long as Kobe is playing at this high of a level, the Lakers are in win-now mode.
Bynum is a fine piece, but he is unreliable.
He is expendable with these injuries haunting his career.
5. No: Youth
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Bynum is a six-year veteran at just the age of 23 years-old.
Bynum has not even reached the prime of his life, let alone the prime of his NBA career.
Bynum still has yet to grow into his body, which is why the punishment he endures throughout an NBA season is still too grave for him at this point in his life.
It is rare to find a young man with his size and talent. There is still time for him with this Lakers team.
4. Yes: Can Win Without Him
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Even with just Pau Gasol at center, the Lakers could win a championship without him.
Lamar Odom has played superb this season.
Bynum wasn’t a major factor in the past two Championship victories and he clearly isn’t as important to the overall picture as Lakers management would like him to be.
At this point, Bynum becoming a factor is a long-lost dream.
4. No: Kobe Isn’t Lasting Forever
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Kobe Bryant has been the Lakers’ center-piece for over a decade.
The Lakers need to keep Bynum to give the Lakers a future building block as Bryant, Gasol and Odom age.
One of the most difficult pieces to find in the NBA is a potentially dominant big man. Bynum still has that untapped potential the Lakers need to see through as they build towards another dynasty in the future.
3. Yes: Kobe Isn’t Lasting Forever
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I know, I know, you just saw this same title earlier. But it still rings true.
The Lakers must win now and they have all of the pieces necessary to win a third-straight NBA Championship.
Andrew Bynum is not doing the Lakers any favors right now.
Actually, he is.
There’s a rumor going around the NBA that he is going to be an incredible talent—he has yet to show that. The Lakers need to capitalize on his mystique now while they can.
Bring another superstar in to help Kobe and this Lakers team three-peat.
3. No: Need Size for Playoffs
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Every team needs big men for the playoffs. The more size a team has, the better they are off. Big men can control the tempo of a seven-game series.
As the Lakers get deeper into the playoffs, they will need the size up front to control the boards and kick it back out to Kobe Bryant.
By putting Bynum and Pau Gasol out there each game, the Lakers have the biggest advantage throughout the Western Conference.
The only team who could compete with the Lakers’ size is the Boston Celtics with Kendrick Perkins, Shaquille O’Neal and Jermaine O’Neal.
2. Yes: Will Never Meet His Expectations
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The Lakers have put such his expectations on Bynum that it might just be impossible for him to live up to them. He may constantly fail to meet these expectations and the pressure will mount on his shoulder.
In turn, his confidence will be crushed.
Bynum needs a change of scenery or else this monkey will forever be on his back.
Fans will look back on Bynum as a failure and a bust and blame management for this Lakers team not reaching its full potential.
He will never carry the Lakers to a championship. Mark my words.
2. No: Development
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Bynum is still developing as a ball player. He’s had time, due to the injuries, to improve his shooting touch. This worked wonders for Amar’e Stoudemire.
Although Bynum’s game has yet to translate like Stoudemire’s has, Bynum is a fine free throw shooter.
His numbers are down this season but they will jump back up shortly.
Bynum’s post game, footwork and rebounding skills are still progressing and he will soon enough average a double-double.
1. Yes: This Lakers Team Will Not Flip Switch
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This Lakers team has been inconsistent after starting hot.
As Bryant continues to take a beating, he needs another superstar to come in to take the pressure off him.
Bryant will still be the go-to man with the game on the line as he is easily the most clutch player in the game since Michael Jordan retired.
Another superstar, like Carmelo Anthony for example, would take a ton of offensive pressure off Bryant throughout games, leaving him fresh for the waning moments.
If Bynum is the piece to secure a fourth championship instead of looking into a jaded crystal ball, it must be done.
This Lakers team may look like they're built for a championship run, but they will not reach a Finals with this squad.
1. No: Signs of Greatness
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The main reason the Lakers can’t trade Bynum is because when he plays, he shows spurts of greatness.
Oddly enough, it hasn’t been in the playoffs for the most part, yet when Bynum shows his true potential, everybody’s jaws are on the floor.
He can dominate a game down low with his athleticism—we’ve seen Bynum go off for 40 points before.
This potential is too mouth-watering for the LA management. If he can find his rhythm, the Lakers would be unstoppable.
That is why the Lakers will never pull the trigger on Bynum.
Conclusion
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Andrew Bynum’s spurts of greatness are too few and far apart to keep him around right now. If the Lakers can use him as a piece to acquire a superstar, the Lakers need to take advantage of it.
Bynum’s injury history is too scary right now. He may forever deal with this string of injuries, which in turn will cripple the Lakers in the long run.
The Lakers need to capitalize on his mystique now before other teams catch on that he isn’t the player Los Angeles hyped him to be.
His expectations are too high and he will never be the center piece the Lakers need to win multiple championships when Kobe Bryant retires.
