Few have taken as much heat in the NBA offseason as Andrew Bynum. Teammate Kobe Bryant famously ripped Drew on tape. Instead of rushing to young Bynum's aid, the Lakers organization spent the summer uncomfortably kissing Kobe's ass and praying he wouldn't press on with his trade demands. (A highly understandable strategy.)Bynum's showing some remarkable (to me) awareness of his status, and it doesn't seem like he feels sorry for himself. From Mike Bresnahan in today's Los Angeles Times:
"That's kind of been my rap in the league -- flash a little bit of potential, but half the time I look like I'm not really interested. That's not really the case. I go out there and play with energy and effort all the time."Bynum doesn't turn 20 until October 27; this seeming mental maturity seems impressive. Bresnahan brings up comparisons to Jermaine O'Neal's long maturation process with the Blazers. There's a big difference, though: Bynum's been given a real chance. Drew logged almost 1,800 minutes last year; J.O. didn't get near that level until his age-22 season (his first in Indiana). And Bynum had a good year -- his offensive numbers were solid, his defense was no worse than any other Lakers big.
All this Kobe 'win now' business has flipped our conventional wisdom on Bynum -- sure, he's not ready to dominate right now. But he's on the path to being a very good player within a few years. He's certainly a mile ahead of where J.O. was at this age.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
10-13-2007 @ 3:16PM
Richard Weissfeld said...
And how many championships has J.O. won? There are plenty of "nice" players around, but, few champions, like Kobe. But, Kobe's gone and Andrew "the friendly giant" is Jim Buss's pet, so I guess Lakers fans like myself will have to settle for a "nice" team rather than a championship team.
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10-13-2007 @ 3:56PM
Jesse said...
I've been a dedicated Laker fan for 17 years. If Buss makes the HUGE mistake of trading Kobe rather than building around the best player in the world then my allegiance to this franchise is DONE. I will no longer purchase tickets, clothing, or memorabilia. Jerry Buss is allowing his alcoholic son to ruin this franchise in his learning process. If Kobe is gone, I am too. This franchise no longer cares about winning, it's about payroll and supporting Jerry's poker and viagra addictions.
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10-13-2007 @ 4:21PM
Martin said...
Kobe hasn't won any championships on his own and until he shows confidence in his teammates, don't look for any championships in the near future. I'm one of those Laker fans that believes the Lakers would be better off by trading Kobe for two good players (Ben Gordon and Ben Wallace of Chicago, for instance).
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10-13-2007 @ 6:35PM
lakerfan3118 said...
i think what many don't realize is the fact that bynum more than likely won't have the opportunity to succeed minute wise this season as compared to last.
a large part of why this guy was on the hardwood for over 1800 minutes last year was the abscence of kwame brown and chris mihm. this season, however, these guys are healthy and more than likely will share the load minute wise with bynum.
less minutes will equal less points, and less of a chance to develop, or at least play a singular role this season.
not good for the lakers.
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10-14-2007 @ 4:03AM
Kobe SUCKS said...
You guys are all IDIOTS.
Kobe has not won a single playoff series since SHAQ left, all of a sudden you guys are saying letting Kobe go would ruin our championship hopes, hey dumbasses were the LAKERS championship contenders with Kobe the last three years in the first place?? Damn you guys sucks get the stuff right.
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