NBA Trade Rumors: Why L.A. Lakers Need To Move Andrew Bynum Now

Somewhat lost in the shuffle of all the NBA draft hoopla are all the NBA trade rumors floating around. We have heard all kinds of speculation involving players for players, players for draft picks and draft picks for draft picks.

One of the more noteworthy trade proposals saw the Los Angeles Lakers offer Lamar Odom to the Minnesota Timberwolves for the No. 2 pick in the draft, according to the Los Angeles Times. Minnesota countered by offering the No. 2 pick for Andrew Bynum.

The Lakers turned that deal down, as they should have, but it does make a lot of sense for them to shop the 23-year-old center around and get the best deal for him that they can get.

Bynum has superstar potential, and we see it occasionally in the games he played this year, but he can't stay healthy for any length of time.

Since being drafted with the 10th overall pick in the 2005 draft, Bynum has only played more than 55 games in a season twice (2006, 2009).

His salary, meanwhile, is getting bigger and bigger with each passing year. He made $13.8 million last season and will make $15.1 million next season. There is also a $16 million team option for 2012-13.

Everyone knows why the Lakers are reluctant to part with him. It's the cardinal rule of NBA front offices—you don't trade young centers under any circumstances. That's a sound rule, but when you are an older team like the Lakers, and you are spending a lot of money on players whose skills will begin to decline in the next couple of years (Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom, Kobe Bryant, Ron Artest), you need to make the best possible decision for the future of the franchise.

Bynum is an electric talent when he is on the court, but his injury problems have gotten to the point where you can't count on him at all.

If, and it is a BIG if, some team comes out this offseason and offers you a potential lottery pick next year and an already established player who may not be a star but will be a good addition to the core talent that is already in place, the Lakers need to take it.

Centers are the greatest commodity in basketball because there aren't a lot of them who can actually play in this league, but you can't hold on to them after six years of injuries just based on potential and how good they look on the practice floor.

Plus, it's not like Bynum has been dominating the league when he has played. He has only averaged 10.3 points and 7.1 rebounds per game for his career. His career high in points per game is 15.0 (2009). So as good as he has looked at times, it's not like he is bringing the rest of the league down to its knees when he plays.

The Lakers aren't going to get someone like Dwight Howard for Bynum, so that dream needs to be put to rest right now.

There are plenty of good players available (Josh Smith, Andre Iguodala) and even though they aren't marquee names, they will give the team more than Bynum does sitting on the bench nursing another knee injury.

The Lakers need to move Bynum as soon as possible before he gets hurt again and his value plummets faster than the stock market.