Andrew Bynum: 25k fine, 5 game suspension

[Anklebreaker702]

bynum didn't put himself on the trading block, may be in realgm world, but c'mon now.

as far as bynum getting pushed around by smaller guys, did you watch the playoffs? kilroy, where you the one that said bynum had been really inconsistent in the playoffs? if so you continue to be wrong about drew. apologies if it wasn't you.

No that was me... I stand by it.

I watched every minute of every game and always focus on bigs because I like the nuances of the inside game and because not a whole lot was going on for us outside of the paint.

Bynum was inconsistent... His effort and intensity levels were up and down. There were games where he jumped like Artest for the entire game. He seemed to have a hard time keeping his legs under him and firing.

He was getting pushed around inside. Not every play but a lot more than a 7' 270# guy with proper motivation should be... And a lot more than he was after the all-star break.
He got in a groove for the last 2 games of the NO series but before that, he looked like he was letting Okafor and Landry take him out of his game... And Grey absolutely owned him until he got hurt... and sometimes even after in spot minutes.

Then against Dallas, it was Chandler... And he follows up his 18/12 game against NO with 8/5...
Chandler in past matchups couldn't handle bynum... He'd get in early foul trouble and look completely outmatched... For whatever reason, this time it was different. Bynum wasn't catching the ball where he normally does against him and looked like he was having a hard time battling him for position and rebounds.

He was light years better than Pau... But that doesn't negate the fact that he didn't put out the same effort night in and night out that he did after the all star break.

So my point isn't that Bynum sucked, or that he needed to be traded or that he's not one of the best C's in the league...

My original point was that as well as he played at times, the energy, focus, and physicality levels weren't always were they needed to be in the playoffs...

Playing with an undermotivated pau may have had an effect.

Wow this shows how differently people watch games. Bynum by far was our most consistent player throughout the 2 rounds, even against Dallas. He had 1 bad game & in game 4 Dallas hit so many 3's so fast there was no way to establish anything. Which led to the frustration fouls from him & Odom.

Even all the announcers including Reggie Miller said that he should be touching the ball every offensive possession. Look at most of the post throughout the series most of them read, they have no answer for Bynum. It's funny how guys see the same thing different. 1 Game Drew had 1 foul & because that so happened to be the same game he didn't play well one poster said that proves he wasn't aggressive enough. Now had he had 5 fouls in the same game it would have been viewed as he needs to learn how to play defense without fouling. In Game 2 he had 18 & 13 with only 2 fouls so was he still not trying hard enough? Game 3 21 & 10 with 5 fouls. So does almost fouling out mean you're trying harder or putting your team in jeopardy by having its best big on the bench?

[madmaxmedia]

He said Bynum should be touching the ball every possession, so why wasn't he? Because of the other Lakers, because of the general offensive scheme, or because Bynum was fighting for a good entry location every time down the floor? Maybe a little of each...

I am in between on this. I think Bynum had a good series, but still from the standpoint of a supporting player, not a dominant NBA center. But to a large extent it's understandable IMO that he isn't doing 20/12 every game- he's still very young and I think physically developing, he's had significant injury time, and he got drafted onto a championship-level team with already many prominent players.

I think the big question is, when Bynum is 28 and the highest-paid member of his team (whether it's the Lakers or somewhere else)- will he play at the level of quality and consistency that will be demanded of him? Or I guess another option is that he'll never be 'The Man' on his team, but neither will he make that kind of money either, and will settle on another very good but not max level contract (which could be acceptable to the Lakers, as they would have the money for those other pieces.)

[Sedale Threatt]

He'll be close to a max player simply by virtue of the position he plays -- legit 7-footers who can actually play are the rarest commodity in basketball. Now, you can debate whether or not they're actually the most valuable anymore, what with the way the game has shifted to favor perimeter players.

Regardless, somebody is going to throw a huge deal at him if they get the chance, even if he probably doesn't deserve it in the sense that he's not, and I don't think ever will be, a championship cornerstone.

That's not a criticism, either.

There are probably no more than five or 10 true franchise players in the NBA at any given point. (James Worthy, for example, was a phenomenal player, but not a franchise player.) I saw a lot of improvement this year, but I don't ever see him reaching that level.

As for him putting himself on the trading block, that's total crap. As long as Jim Buss is involved in the team -- and all indications are, he's only getting further entrenched now that Jackson is gone -- I don't ever see him getting traded.

I don't think that's a good thing. He views Andrew as a trophy of his basketball acumen, rather than an asset to be used for the benefit of the franchise. But I think that's the way it is.

[kevin_405]

I am expecting Mitch to try to see if he can get 2 first rounders for Bynum hopefully Cavs 4th pick.

[Slava]

If we do want to trade him it better not be for a draft pick and especially one in this draft. Bynum is already a lot better than whatever player you can get might become 4 years down the road.

Also try explaining to Kobe that you just traded a finished product from his championship team for a lottery pick.