Can we live without Bynum?

[TonyMontana]

I do realize that this topic has comeup more than a few times and it been has beated to death, but lets be honest here we went to the finals in 08 and we lost without Bynum, and he wasnt really a huge factor in 09 and he was injured in these finals.

Seeing how he has to get a surgery and he hasnt fullfield what we have expected from him since we have won 2 out of 3 finals without his help.

So my question is, should we start shopping him around for maybe a couple of players that can help us in lets say P.G and decent Center??

[Free Rider]

I still think we need two good bigs who can rebound and play in the post when needed. That's why I don't mind trading Bynum for Bosh because Bosh can replicate some of what Bynum gives us. But I always worry about trading a big for a small. General rule is that you just don't do that. In this league size does matter and you can find a decent guard more readily that you can a good big man.

[The Skyhook]

Tony I think we can live with Bynum. Like you pointed out we are already with Bynum in a sense. I constantly see people saying that Gasol can't play at center full time but we pretty much see him do it all the time because of Bynum's injuries. Its hard to consider him a factor in 09 and this season he gave us solid play until his knee swelled up way too much. During the regular season Bynum doesn't get that much of a burn in the 2nd half because Phil always goes with LO and Pau.

I have and always will be a Bynum supporter and if he is traded then it might not be easy to forget about it. However I think if Bynum is traded then it is because the FO is thinking about more championships before Kobe's time is up. If it happens then it happens and whoever comes here will be embraced by the fans.

[Dr Aki]

well i disagree with your assessment that we won without bynum these finals. despite contributing little in terms of stats, even a bynum on one leg was very essential to us beating the celtics. i honestly dont think we beat the celtics without bynum and his absurd length. the lakers' rim defense was completely different without bynum in the mix (see game 4, when bynum simply "couldn't go"), odom was emasculated by big baby davis.

and as good as trading him for that PG and center (i know you're thinking of hinrich and noah), i just dont have the same level of trust in noah that i do with bynum (even on one leg).

im a fan of hinrich and his addition would turn the lakers into absurdly talented juggernauts offensively and defensively. i just think it can be done without sacrificing bynum; who i think if we were to trade, could be better used in trading up in talent for bosh (if they would take bynum). i just don't see how diluting talent over 2 players would serve the lakers better than simply just keeping bynum and adding a PG with our MLE.

[LAKERS_1981]

I thought Bynum did help against Howard in 2009 and against Perkins and Garnett in 2010.

Yes he was not close to 100% be he had his moments and he did a solid job on D that you cant see on stats(there is more to D then D-reb and blocks).

I think we will need him to win more(or Bosh).

[The Skyhook]

well i disagree with your assessment that we won without bynum these finals. despite contributing little in terms of stats, even a bynum on one leg was very essential to us beating the celtics. i honestly dont think we beat the celtics without bynum and his absurd length. the lakers' rim defense was completely different without bynum in the mix (see game 4, when bynum simply "couldn't go"), odom was emasculated by big baby davis.

and as good as trading him for that PG and center (i know you're thinking of hinrich and noah), i just dont have the same level of trust in noah that i do with bynum (even on one leg).

im a fan of hinrich and his addition would turn the lakers into absurdly talented juggernauts offensively and defensively. i just think it can be done without sacrificing bynum; who i think if we were to trade, could be better used in trading up in talent for bosh (if they would take bynum). i just don't see how diluting talent over 2 players would serve the lakers better than simply just keeping bynum and adding a PG with our MLE.

Yeah Aki in these Finals he definitely gave it his all. In 09 its hard to say he did much compared to this season. If you thought Bynum looked slow this year then last year and this year in comparison made Bynum look like turtle next to a cheetah. However this season Bynum's length definitely hurt the Celtics. It was something they were just not able to match. If Drew was healthy this wouldn' t have even been a series. There would have been Laker's champagne all over the floor of the Boston Garden.

I think if Drew is going to be traded then the Lakers really need to gun for Noah and Hinrich. I love Noah's game. He is the definition of all heart and hustle. The dude has a great attitude and he does all the dirty work. When it comes to rebounds he is arguably better then Drew. People are talking about "we can't trade Drew because Pau can't run Center for a full season." Well there is your answer. The guy will be doing everything to make Pau's job easy. I

think the one place we will miss Drew is on offense. That length of his allows him to score almost at will when he is healthy. However if we get Noah and Hinrich then Hirnch is an improvement on offense and it leaves us with the MLE to sign a shooter for the bench.

[TonyMontana]

Honestly guys I wasnt even thinking about Hinrich and Noah............ This up and coming F.A is going to be a good one and with the way the economy is these days I highly doubt that teams will be forking out the big bucks. I think maybe we can steal something that will workout for us by trading Bynum.

Also as you guys know Im still doubting Bynums health, its no longer about his heart and his dedication since he has proven that, but Im thinking what if we get to the next playoffs and we have to go through the samething we just went through again.

If he can go through this surgery and come out of it with the hopes of fully recovering then so be it Im good with Bynum, but what if he doesnt. Then we are stuck with his contract and I doubt there will be any interest in him since he will be labeled as injury prone and damaged goods.

[Dr Aki]

well i disagree with your assessment that we won without bynum these finals. despite contributing little in terms of stats, even a bynum on one leg was very essential to us beating the celtics. i honestly dont think we beat the celtics without bynum and his absurd length. the lakers' rim defense was completely different without bynum in the mix (see game 4, when bynum simply "couldn't go"), odom was emasculated by big baby davis.

and as good as trading him for that PG and center (i know you're thinking of hinrich and noah), i just dont have the same level of trust in noah that i do with bynum (even on one leg).

im a fan of hinrich and his addition would turn the lakers into absurdly talented juggernauts offensively and defensively. i just think it can be done without sacrificing bynum; who i think if we were to trade, could be better used in trading up in talent for bosh (if they would take bynum). i just don't see how diluting talent over 2 players would serve the lakers better than simply just keeping bynum and adding a PG with our MLE.

Yeah Aki in these Finals he definitely gave it his all. In 09 its hard to say he did much compared to this season. If you thought Bynum looked slow this year then last year and this year in comparison made Bynum look like turtle next to a cheetah. However this season Bynum's length definitely hurt the Celtics. It was something they were just not able to match. If Drew was healthy this wouldn' t have even been a series. There would have been Laker's champagne all over the floor of the Boston Garden.

I think if Drew is going to be traded then the Lakers really need to gun for Noah and Hinrich. I love Noah's game. He is the definition of all heart and hustle. The dude has a great attitude and he does all the dirty work. When it comes to rebounds he is arguably better then Drew. People are talking about "we can't trade Drew because Pau can't run Center for a full season." Well there is your answer. The guy will be doing everything to make Pau's job easy. I

think the one place we will miss Drew is on offense. That length of his allows him to score almost at will when he is healthy. However if we get Noah and Hinrich then Hirnch is an improvement on offense and it leaves us with the MLE to sign a shooter for the bench.

i know noah is a defensive beast and he does all the dirty work with 110% effort. and yes i also agree with your assessment that we will miss drew on offense, and that hinrich (to a degree) makes up for that.

i just can't lightly give up whats makes this team, which is simply length and talent. kupchak has worked so hard so that the lakers have become the biggest, longest, most talented team in the league and its an advantage i won't surrender (even by an inch). of which we're doing if we traded bynum for noah and hinrich.

especially with the way we are selling and trading our picks away for cash considerations, talent is whats going to carry us through injuries, through poor play and through physically demanding series.

i also want the lakers to re-become the team that was elite in offensive efficiency, and i see hinrich and noah as a step back. but not if bynum is traded for bosh, (where we're gambling length/defense for even more talent), im totally OK with that.

i also believe that with the MLE, we can find that defensive PG and outside shooter all in the one player (steve blake, randy foye) and kupchak has admitted as much to looking at steve blake, earl watson and luke ridnour. heck, sasha could rediscover his form as a shooter and pesky defender; because shannon brown has lost a bit of the coaches trust of late, and make a renaissance (it is a contract yr for sasha)

in short, i just don't want to end up with a team where through trades, we have diluted talent or we're down the equivalent of a MLE talent (if that makes sense). we can have crazy defense, elite offense AND added toughness all by using our MLE wisely and not going for the bynum for noah + hinrich bailout trade.

ill argue more when theres sunlight, its 3am in sydney and i have uni in the daytime.

[Gek]

I still think we need two good bigs who can rebound and play in the post when needed. That's why I don't mind trading Bynum for Bosh because Bosh can replicate some of what Bynum gives us. But I always worry about trading a big for a small. General rule is that you just don't do that. In this league size does matter and you can find a decent guard more readily that you can a good big man.

You mean jumpshooting, threes and mediocre defense?

He can rebound and score though, but we don't need a scorer as much as we need a banger that can block shots.

[Kilroy]

It's kind of a tough question really...

I think we can get through the regular season without him... There are only a couple teams that can give us trouble inside without him.

I think we should give him limited minutes throughout the season. Just enough to keep him in shape and in a rhythm and still reduce the wear and tear on his knees. He needs to learn how to pace himself for the finals too.

But if we do that, I think he's over-paid, and we really can't overpay for anyone with the cap situation.

So it comes down to a management decision I guess... If the right deal came along, I think you trade him... Hinrich//Noah might work but Noah is small and a little mentally questionable.

I think Bynum has vastly increased his worth this post season so I think we'd have to be pretty impressed to ship him... But I bet we're listening...

I think the Bosh deal needs to be sweetened a little bit if it really existed...

But to answer the original question... We need a truely physical presence inside. If not Bynum, Shaq or someone else... For limited minutes and certain teams.

We can live without him if we get the right pieces in return.

[Pablo Escobar]

Trade Bynum and say goodbye to a 3peat simple as that

[Desiderium]

why trade him now..his trade value is at a all time low with all the injuries.

[Anklebreaker702]

I called this from the middle of the season on, I said no Bynum this year, no title. Although we didn't get a 100% healthy Bynum his defensive presence was huge. As long as he stays healthy he will be our anchor for years to come.

Anyone who can't see what his worth was in this series against this physical team wasn't really watching.

[Anklebreaker702]

Trade Bynum and say goodbye to a 3peat simple as that

+1 He so grew up as a player this playoffs, his heart & toughness were questioned before but he has shown us what he is made of.

[butter17]

I do realize that this topic has comeup more than a few times and it been has beated to death, but lets be honest here we went to the finals in 08 and we lost without Bynum, and he wasnt really a huge factor in 09 and he was injured in these finals.

Seeing how he has to get a surgery and he hasnt fullfield what we have expected from him since we have won 2 out of 3 finals without his help.

So my question is, should we start shopping him around for maybe a couple of players that can help us in lets say P.G and decent Center??

Tony you are cool but this thread is crazy man. Bynum helped us more than what you think. Boston had trouble driving and rebounding because of bynum length in the middle. When bynum was in the game... perkins and big baby couldn't get rebounds or score inside, when bynum went out they abused L.O and pau. We need bynum bigtime.

[butter17]

I called this from the middle of the season on, I said no Bynum this year, no title. Although we didn't get a 100% healthy Bynum his defensive presence was huge. As long as he stays healthy he will be our anchor for years to come.

Anyone who can't see what his worth was in this series against this physical team wasn't really watching.

+1

[Pablo Escobar]

Bynum is our enforcer if he wasn't playing this year we would have lost again because Pau was getting beat up by KG, Sheed and Perkins, I hope we don't trade him for Rupaul we already have a soft guy in Pau we don't need another one, Bynum is our defensive anchor something Pau can never be so trading him doesn't make sense

[TonyMontana]

out they abused L.O and pau. We need bynum bigtime.

Ehhhhhhhh thats not really true, also guys Im not denying his heart and his dedication AT ALL. Im past that Im concerned about his Knee. Again its his knee, is he going to revcover, can we afford not having him if and when we get to the playoffs, if we trade him can we get some solid pieces to help us in 2011??

[stunnar0b]

I do realize that this topic has comeup more than a few times and it been has beated to death, but lets be honest here we went to the finals in 08 and we lost without Bynum, and he wasnt really a huge factor in 09 and he was injured in these finals.

Seeing how he has to get a surgery and he hasnt fullfield what we have expected from him since we have won 2 out of 3 finals without his help.

So my question is, should we start shopping him around for maybe a couple of players that can help us in lets say P.G and decent Center??

not gonna sit well with bynum fans. (me included) with your thread assessment i dont think you saw the finals last year and this year

bynum was huge and did exactly what we needed him to do rebounded, defend the paint with the best of them, gave vauluble resting time for odom and pau and most important he gave us sheer size and if you ask any coach thats the fisrt thing they mention

with bynum we have an advantage over every team and its not even close why fu&k up a good thing

[TonyMontana]

Anyone who can't see what his worth was in this series against this physical team wasn't really watching.

Your right I was playing with my cojones the whole time......