The Los Angeles Lakers didn't land Dwight Howard, but that doesn't mean they won't have an All-Star center next season. General manager Mitch Kupchak reportedly said that the team will pick up Andrew Bynum's option for next season. "He's the starting center on the West All-Star team. Why wouldn't we do everything we could to keep him here?" Kupchak said, according to the Los Angeles Times. "We're ecstatic to have him on the team." The Lakers must exercise the center's $16.1 million option by June 30. Bynum will then be a free agent after the 2012-13 season, at the same time Howard is set to become a free agent after deciding not to opt out of his contract this summer. The Lakers could prevent Bynum from hitting the free-agent market after next season, however, by negotiating a contract extension with the 7-footer beforehand. Bynum sounds amenable to opening up long-term contract talks. "I want to sign," Bynum told ESPNLosAngeles.com following the Lakers' shootaround in Houston on Tuesday. "I want to be a Laker." Bynum's agent, David Lee, said that Lakers management controls if and when those talks will occur. "Their call," Lee said in a text message to ESPNLosAngeles.com. "Ball's in their court." Read more: http://espn.go.com/los-angeles/nba/...s-angeles-lakers-exercise-andrew-bynum-option
