Opinion: Andrew Bynum

Andrew Bynum

A Forgotten Man

By Joshua Oleksiak

At this time last year, everybody in the NBA was focused on two things and two things only: the NBA draft and the Dwight Howard saga. For the most part, however, the draft was on the backburner. Everybody in the NBA was talking about where Dwight Howard would end up. Where would he get trade to? What would the Magic get in compensation? Would there be a third team involved in the trade?

One of the centerpieces of the aforementioned Dwight Howard trade was the trade of Andrew Bynum from the Los Angeles Lakers to the Philadelphia 76ers. Before acquiring Bynum, the 76ers knew that Bynum had a knee injury, but they did not know the extent of the injury. Bynum missed the entire 2012-2013 season, not playing a single game for the 76ers.

Now Andrew Bynum is a free agent. However, I have not heard a single thing said about him. He is a valuable big man, who in 2011 averaged 18.7 points per game, with 11.8 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game. These are stellar numbers for a big man. Also in 2011, he made the All Star team and at the end of the year made the All-NBA 2nd Team. He was also a two-time NBA champion in 2009 and 2010 with the Lakers. I think Bynum should be getting a lot more attention then he is getting, the behemoth of a center he is.