NBA Trade Rumors: Why Lakers Star Andrew Bynum Is an Overrated Trade Chip

The Los Angeles Lakers are crazy if they think Andrew Bynum is good enough to be the centerpiece of a major trade that would bring superstars such as Dwight Howard or Chris Paul to the City of Angels.

With the news that the Lakers want to land both Paul and Howard, it's time to look at how good their most valuable trade chip, Andrew Bynum, really is.

Bynum is not only overrated as a player, his injury history is extremely concerning to teams even thinking about acquiring the young center.

Both of Bynum's knees have had a ton of problems in his young career. He had surgery on his left kneecap in 2008 and underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right knee in 2010. He hyperextended his right knee during the 2010 playoffs, and had his right knee drained three times in that same postseason.

Due to these knee issues, Bynum has played just 332 of a possible 492 games in his six seasons with the Lakers, and only started 240 of them.

His inability to stay consistently healthy—especially during playoff time—should be a huge concern to the Magic if they are considering acquiring Bynum in a possible deal for Howard.

During his playoff career, Bynum has only averaged 21.6 minutes per game. Howard has averaged 39.2 minutes per game in his playoff career, despite being prone to early fouls.

Not only do Bynum's injury issues make him an overrated trade chip, his production when he is actually on the floor is not amazing.

Lakers fans make him out to be a star center, but he really is not. Bynum's career scoring average is 10.5, with a 7.1 rebounds per game average.

Bynum has never scored more than 15 points per game in a season, and in four of his six seasons he's averaged less than nine rebounds per game. His scoring average decreased by almost four points last year from his 2009-10 average.

Howard's career averages are 18.2 ppg and 12.9 rpg. It's clear that the two centers aren't close to being on the same level offensively or defensively, whatever way you want to look at it.

Bynum is a good player, but he's no star. He cannot be the center piece of a major trade involving players of Chris Paul or Dwight Howard's caliber.

The Magic, Hornets, or any other NBA team would be incredibly foolish to acquire Bynum in a trade that sends a good player to the Lakers.

Bynum's injury history and average statistics make him an overrated trade chip that the Lakers won't be able to use to acquire a major superstar to give Kobe Bryant another chance at a championship.