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Bynum then worked out in secret for Kupchak, Lester, scout Bill Bertka and Jim Buss at the pre-draft camp in Chicago and once more in Los Angeles for Jackson. Jackson was impressed but, with only a three-year contract, preferred someone such as Arizona's Channing Frye, who could play for him immediately.

Meanwhile, with the word spreading, Bynum went to work out for the Portland Trail Blazers, who had the No. 3 pick, then to see the Golden State Warriors, who had No. 8. "They [the Lakers] were like, 'We're really interested. We can't guarantee, but you're really high on our list,' " Bynum says. "We were like, 'OK, well, we'll go work out for Portland.' So then when I went to work out for Portland, I did really, really well there. . . ."I was about to work out for Golden State. I actually went up and talked to [GM] Chris Mullin." Which is when the Lakers jumped all the way in, committing themselves to draft him and ending the process. "I was just about to start the workout when [the Lakers] called," Bynum says, adding that he "shut it down" right then and there.

As enthusiastic as the rest of the staff, Jim called his father, who was in Europe, and convinced him it was a gamble worth taking, the kind West had built the franchise on.

Memphis GM Chris Wallace, then in Boston, remembers the surprise at the University of Connecticut, where Bynum had been expected to back up veterans Josh Boone and Hilton Armstrong. "There were some disconcerted people back in our area," Wallace says. "People were saying he's not even going to start at UConn, he's going to be third team."

Bynum's coach at St. Joseph's High in Metuchen, N.J., Mark Taylor, was flabbergasted. "I question his mentality," said Taylor, noting their early exit in the state tournament. "If he's an NBA player now, how do I lose in the first round?"

However, the Lakers hadn't been the only ones to notice Bynum. The Knicks' Isiah Thomas called the next day to ask if Bynum would be available in a trade.

DubaLakers wrote:."I was about to work out for Golden State. I actually went up and talked to [GM] Chris Mullin." Which is when the Lakers jumped all the way in, committing themselves to draft him and ending the process. "I was just about to start the workout when [the Lakers] called," Bynum says, adding that he "shut it down" right then and there.

What does this mean? Lock him up before the draft? I don't get it.

DEEP3CL wrote:Good stuff dcash.......................makes you wonder where we would be had we not drafted him.