Can Bynum be the franchise player?

LascelleL · Post #1 » by **LascelleL** » Wed May 25, 2011 7:28 pm

I was having a discussion about my cousin and the off-season ahead for the Lakers. I told him straight up that Andrew Bynum is the best center in the league not named Dwight Howard. He agreed but the question came up, do you see Drew as the franchise player at any point in time? I think we could all agree that if Dwight is made available, you make a push for him and trade Drew, but in the likely outcome that Dwight doesn't come to LA....could you see Drew as the type of player that can put this franchise on his back and carry it to success?

doremi · Post #2 » by **doremi** » Wed May 25, 2011 7:32 pm

If he stays healthy...

Post #3 » by **Kilroy** » Wed May 25, 2011 7:50 pm

Well there's 'Franchise Player' and then there's 'Los Angles Lakers Franchise Player'...

I think on a lot of teams, if Bynum can stay healthy, he'd be a solid Franchise guy...

But even though I really like him and want him to dominate... I just don't think he has the chops to be our Franchise player...

He has made great strides almost every off-season though. So maybe he can be our guy one day. Just not right now.

barrettcg · Post #4 » by **barrettcg** » Wed May 25, 2011 7:50 pm

Staying healthy is a huge part however if you look at shaq in his career he was never an ironman or any sorts however he ( just off of rough estimation ) played around 60 -65 games a year and he was questionably the most dominate center of all time. Can Drew do the same? I don't think so but he can be the defensive anchor and a force on offense. If he stays healthy and the team buys into the whole drew being the man thing than I can see him averaging around 20, 12, 4, and 2-3 blocks a game.

His head has to be right though and he has to understand that he can't play like a kid who gets frustrated and throws attacking guards to the ground. (If he continues this year to do the same type of play where he was suspended 3 times this past year for then the league will only start to lengthen his suspensions)

eckoner · Post #5 » by **eckoner** » Wed May 25, 2011 7:50 pm

He could but and i think most would agree. My fear is that it becomes that same friction filled transition that we saw with Shaq and Kobe.

If Kobe can get on the same page as Bynum like Robinson did with Duncan it would be a beautiful thing!

I think Bynum is ready for the transition but is Kobe?

barrettcg · Post #6 » by **barrettcg** » Wed May 25, 2011 7:57 pm

eckoner wrote:I think Bynum is ready for the transition but is Kobe?

Excellent point

rhp1990 · Post #7 » by **rhp1990** » Wed May 25, 2011 8:08 pm

when he plays 70+ games and playoffs for 2 straight seasons then yes.

Post #8 » by **dockingsched** » Wed May 25, 2011 8:22 pm

ability wise, yeah, i think he's clearly franchise player caliber. he can anchor a defense, rebound the heck out of the ball, and dominates most centers in the league.

durability wise though, im not sure he'll ever get there. even now that he's gone over a calendar yr without a major injury, there's always tweaks here and there that give everyone a scare. he had one right before the playoffs and one during the playoffs.

Sedale Threatt · Post #9 » by **Sedale Threatt** » Wed May 25, 2011 8:26 pm

I don't see it. That's a label that is thrown around way too loosely.

There are only maybe 10 truly legitimate franchise guys in the NBA at any given point. I.E., players that can consistently dominate throughout the playoffs and lead you to a championship.

Which is a LOT harder than most fans realize. Pau Gasol, for example, has been a truly great player -- and he's not a franchise guy.

I like the direction Andrew seems to be heading, and about the only thing I like about the Brown hire is that he's a coach who will force him to focus on both ends. But I don't see him ever filling that role.

I can see him being a pretty good No. 2 guy, under the right circumstances. But not No. 1.

H00PDREAMS · Post #10 » by **H00PDREAMS** » Wed May 25, 2011 9:01 pm

He is too gimpy and is always hurt. So I am inclined to say NOT.

desertlakerfan · Post #11 » by **desertlakerfan** » Wed May 25, 2011 9:06 pm

dcash4 wrote:ability wise, yeah, i think he's clearly franchise player caliber. he can anchor a defense, rebound the heck out of the ball, and dominates most centers in the league.

durability wise though, im not sure he'll ever get there. even now that he's gone over a calendar yr without a major injury, there's always tweaks here and there that give everyone a scare. he had one right before the playoffs and one during the playoffs.

That's the crux of the issue. He's shown already that he can dominate both ends of the floor, but he hasn't shown he can do it as the focus of the offense thoughout an entire season. It's something that could happen in a year or two if he can continue to improve his core strength/conditioning and have relatively healthy seasons, as long as Kobe's ready to "fall in line" :lol:

Could be a very interesting reverse Kobe/Shaq situation as #24 ages, would he be wise enough to learn from Shaq's mistakes as the elder or would his ego make him repeat them in his own way?

BEazy · Post #12 » by **BEazy** » Wed May 25, 2011 9:13 pm

Lemme give you a quick reply to that question..................NO.

salmahayek · Post #13 » by **salmahayek** » Wed May 25, 2011 9:15 pm

Yes...if, he can stay healthy, obviously, and if the Lakers can get him the ball inside when he needs it. Better point guard play would be necessary to truly maximize Bynum in my opinion, and Kobe would have to want to share the ball with him more...a lot more.

This is one of the funny things about Howard possibly coming to LA...and [b]eckoner[/b] already touched on it...if Howard comes to LA for Bynum, how is Howard going to react running up and down the floor and not touching the ball for three straight possessions?

Right now, Kobe can get away with that with Bynum, Gasol, and Odom as the Laker FO has not gotten enough recognition for not only putting together a great team, but one that works within the Kobe dynamic. I seriously doubt Howard would "fall in line" like Gasol and Bynum have.

Instead of "Batman vs. Superman," this time around, it could be "Batman vs. Superboy," but now does Kobe have enough "Kryptonite" left to win the battle?

On paper, a team of Kobe, Howard, and CP3 would be awesome and give the Heat all they would want, but does it work on the floor and in the locker room with Kobe? That is the question, and it is both a big and super one.

pdub15 · Post #14 » by **pdub15** » Wed May 25, 2011 9:44 pm

barrettcg wrote:
eckoner wrote:I think Bynum is ready for the transition but is Kobe?

Excellent point

Kobe played with mega stars in Olympics. Transition isn't the problem. Bynum just isn't a franchise player. Especially in L.A.

pdub15 · Post #15 » by **pdub15** » Wed May 25, 2011 9:45 pm

barrettcg wrote:
eckoner wrote:I think Bynum is ready for the transition but is Kobe?

Excellent point

Kobe played with mega stars in Olympics. Transition isn't the problem. Bynum just isn't a franchise player. Especially in L.A.

LascelleL · Post #16 » by **LascelleL** » Wed May 25, 2011 9:50 pm

barrettcg wrote:
eckoner wrote:I think Bynum is ready for the transition but is Kobe?

Excellent point

The whole thing with Shaq was different. Kobe was just entering his prime when Shaq was in the middle towards the end of his, friction happened because we basically had two Alpha Lions in the jungle that from a personality standpoint didn't really mesh together. Here now, Kobe is declining he knows that, Dr. Buss knows that everyone knows that. Bynum isn't close to his prime yet (I hope) and by the time he is I don't think Kobe would mind him taking over so long as he doesn't slack off with the torch...but some people raise a great point. Drew may be a franchise level player on say the Raptors but he's no Superstar and Superstars are the only worthy ones of being a Lakers franchise player.

barrettcg · Post #17 » by **barrettcg** » Wed May 25, 2011 9:58 pm

kobe has already said that this year his number were down due to his injuries and he could never really become healthy because he was using the early part of the season to get his conditioning in for the season.

In kobe's mind he very much still in his prime and he thinks that he can still have 2-4 really good years left. (I'm no mind reader its simply what I get from what I have heard him say). I don't think that he is ready especially with Pau on the team to tell a player 9 years his junior to step up and I'm gonna give you the ball at least every other possesion and work off of you.

With Mike Brown our new head coach ESPN reported that brown will use an offense similiar to what the spurs run or ran and if this is true wouldn't it make sense that just like throwing the ball into Duncan at the mid post and working off of him will be very similiar to what we might be seeing in the near future, except with Bynum who Senor bus is so fond of?

RamonSessions7 · Post #18 » by **RamonSessions7** » Wed May 25, 2011 10:19 pm

H00PDREAMS wrote:He is too gimpy and is always hurt. So I am inclined to say NOT.

Yup

doozyj · Post #19 » by **doozyj** » Wed May 25, 2011 11:22 pm

Not entirely sold on Bynum as of yet. Give us 1 good solid year without an injury.

Doormatt · Post #20 » by **Doormatt** » Wed May 25, 2011 11:25 pm

Kobe has shown he can supplement his game when playing with players worthy of it. He did it for gasol for the past 2 years. Bynum hasn't shown he is ready to do that. Defensively, yes, offensively? No.