Ask for Bynum in a Trade

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Someday, we'll all look back and laugh.

Trade Andrew Bynum and Lamar Odom for Jason Kidd? Gotta be kidding.

Bynum and Odom for Jermaine O'Neal? Can't be serious.

Bynum alone for Kidd or O'Neal?

Ha! Ha, ha, ha.

Actually, it's already time to laugh. Right now. Laugh out loud.

Let's see, the best 20-year-old center on the planet for a point guard pushing 35? For a malcontent, injury-prone semi-big man on the back side of his career?

Can we give some credit to Lakers management here for not trading Andrew Bynum? The kid who only happens to be the Future of the Franchise. The guy Kobe Bryant wanted gone, like, immediately, for Kidd or O'Neal. Only last season. Heck, only last month.

Bryant might still be The Man, but the past three seasons conclusively demonstrated Kobe can't get out of the first round of the playoffs by himself.

He needs a big assist. About 7 feet of it. With agility, athleticism and fine motor control.

Kobe needs Andrew Bynum. More than Bynum needs him, given that Kobe has about 200,000 miles on the odometer and will be entering his decline phase any minute now.

Bynum, meanwhile, is just out of his teens -- and just finding his footing as a dominant center in a league in which size matters.

Bynum scored a career-high 28 points and took 12 rebounds in the Lakers' 122-115, message-sending Christmas Day victory over their nemesis, the Phoenix Suns. A game the Lakers don't win without Bynum's increasingly dominant presence in the paint.

It was only the latest in a series of Bynum performances so impressive that the idea of these Lakers playing well into May no longer seems ridiculous. Even if Bryant's recent insistence Bynum be traded now does.

"I think he's got an unlimited future," Lakers consultant Tex Winter said of Bynum. And Winter was only the latest (and most astute) to scoff at a Bynum-for-Kidd deal.

"Even as good as Kidd is, I don't believe he can have the impact on a team that a big man can have, like Bynum," Winter added. "And I think that's what the Lakers' staff saw, and they were reluctant to make a trade. It's hard to come by a guy who has the physical abilities that Bynum has, as young as he is."

Even Mr. Tough Love, coach Phil Jackson, who compliments Bynum only when he absolutely has to --- such as when the kid has put up another 20 and 10 -- concedes Bynum is making strides.

"He was a real force out there for us," Jackson said. "His scoring capability, he kept their defense on edge."

Bynum isn't a finished product. Not by a long shot. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar continues to work with him, and he needs it.

Bynum's back-to-the-basket game is limited. He commits silly fouls, still.

But Bynum has all the tools. An ability to catch the ball while moving to the basket. A knack for catching lobs at their apex and throwing down dunks. An aptitude for putbacks. The timing to block shots, or change them. A nice touch at the line.

He also is in far better physical condition. The teen who once huffed and puffed after a few trips down the court, a guy mocked by Jackson before the game ("He actually broke out on a run the other night") now is keeping up with events, thanks to rigorous offseason conditioning. He played a game-high 42 minutes Tuesday and said, "I feel like I could play another game right now."

He also is smart enough to credit his teammates for his success.

"They got the ball to me down low; I had no choice but to dunk," he said with a smile.

Among the NBA's young centers, only Dwight Howard rivals Bynum for raw talent. And Howard is 22.

Jackson balks at classifying Bynum among the league's elite centers. "If at the end of the year he's the MVP, then we'll talk about what a great year he had," Jackson said.

The word "consistency" comes up a lot, and Bynum doesn't quite have it yet. He still can disappear for stretches, though not like his first two seasons, when he was a lost, and oft-maligned teen.

Even Bryant, his harshest critic until about 10 minutes ago, has come around on the big kid.

"He's playing exceptional basketball for us right now, and it's encouraging to see at his age," Bryant said. "He has to continue to work, but the sky's the limit for him."

Bynum's breakthrough makes the Lakers formidable again. A team with an inside-outside game, an anchor in the paint.

They aren't an elite team yet, but they can see if from here.

Thanks to the big guy they weren't silly enough to trade.</div>

Source: LA Daily Breeze

 

Bynum for Kidd, good god I'm glad we didn't do that.

AB17 is a stud. Sour Net fans need some mydol for realizing that their team should've pushed harder for Bynum.

I think every Laker fan who was for trading Bynum need to write a letter to Mitch for drafting him and not buckling to the fans pressure and to Kobe's pressure.

 

Check out how Magic fans feel about Cook. LOL!

http://www.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic.php?t=740321

your absolutely right, I was getting excited about getting rid of garrity and now we have cook who might be worse(at least garrity made a few shots here and there)

I love mo but we basically traded a sf in ariza for another sf/sg when we need a big in the worst way

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For real. He was brought in to shoot, and he can't even do that. Truly the black Garrity.

http://orlandomagiczone.com/eve/forums/a/t...71/m/6401017964

Yup, terrible trade. Just think, if we would have kept Ariza, at the end of the year his contract, Carlos, and Pat's would come off the books. With that $, I am sure they could have signed another impact player.

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http://orlandomagiczone.com/eve/forums/a/t...71/m/1601006964

this is sick! i cant believe we traded this guy for a fat cookie..

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Jumpman @ Dec 28 2007, 05:50 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>There's a new idea for Brian's avatar. Picture of Cookie, "The Black Garrity"</div>



PERFECT!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Voodoo Child @ Dec 28 2007, 08:41 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Say what you want to say about Kidd, Bynum, or Mamba's mancrush on the guy, but fact is, Kidd and Kobe would get the Lakers to the finals quicker than Bynum and Kobe. If the Lakers wanted to compete for a title this season, it would have been the move to make.</div>

The problem in trading Bynum is his low salary. He's still on the rookie scale so the Lakers would have to ship out Odom and Bynum and one other guy to match the money Kidd makes.

Lakers just don't have the depth upfront to make up for losing both guys.

If you could trade Bynum straight up for Kidd then hell yeah you make that deal.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (notmuchgame @ Dec 28 2007, 09:35 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Shapecity @ Dec 28 2007, 08:44 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Voodoo Child @ Dec 28 2007, 08:41 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Say what you want to say about Kidd, Bynum, or Mamba's mancrush on the guy, but fact is, Kidd and Kobe would get the Lakers to the finals quicker than Bynum and Kobe. If the Lakers wanted to compete for a title this season, it would have been the move to make.</div>

The problem in trading Bynum is his low salary. He's still on the rookie scale so the Lakers would have to ship out Odom and Bynum and one other guy to match the money Kidd makes.

Lakers just don't have the depth upfront to make up for losing both guys.

If you could trade Bynum straight up for Kidd then hell yeah you make that deal.
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I wouldn't. You can't trade a good young center for an aging guard, no matter how good the guard , especially when your best player is a guard too. Kidd+Kobe would only have about a 2 year window, and I dont think they will be good enough to win a title without an inside presence. Kobe+Bynum, you have about a 7 year window and an inside outside combination...

Plus I wouldn't want a Miami Heat 2 year window and that's it .. I want a SA spurs/shaq-kobe type run, that extends over half a decade
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I would rather go for a title than worry about the future of the team. With a backcourt of Kidd and Kobe you can put anyone at center who can catch a ball and they would have a career year. Look at all the big men who thrived under Jason Kidd throughout the years. Bynum is a stud, but he does benefit a lot from the players around him.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (chingy0007 @ Dec 29 2007, 05:16 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>How long til Bynum blows a knee?</div>

Dude, you're a great poster but what the hell kind of post as that? What point are you making, so far in his NBA career, he's had no signs of injury problems what so ever.

Stupid post. "How long til *insert player here* blows a knee..."
C'mon dude, you're a better poster than that.