BREAKING: The Knicks sign Andrew Bynum to a five-year contract worth $50 guaranteed with a full no trade clause. The Knicks also gave Andrew Bynum himself their 2019 and 2020 first-round picks just for negotiating with him. Bynum will fully be done stealing money from the Knicks by then and these picks will help him build his bowling team.
This deal would be more serious than joke during the Isiah Thomas days than now, but we are still talking about the Knicks here. Obviously, they won’t sign Bynum to that kind of contract (I pray to every religion’s god they don’t) because they don’t have the financial room to, but the Knicks are reportedly interested in Andrew Bynum, Bynum was released from the Chicago Bulls yesterday after trading Luol Deng to the Cleveland Cavaliers for his expiring contract.
Nov 30, 2013; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers center Andrew Bynum (21) during a game against the Chicago Bulls at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
Bynum is basically Eddy Curry 2.0 as of right now. Bynum has had a lot more success, winning two championships with the Lakers, and known as a top 3 center in the league by many people. Since the Lakers traded him in part of the Dwight Howard trade, it’s been all down hill.
Since putting up career highs with 18.7 PPG and 11.8 RPG in 2011-2012, Bynum has played a total of 480 minutes in two seasons. He missed the entire season last year with the Philadelphia 76ers, who probably hate him more than any other team. The Cavs then signed him this offseason, thinking he was the big man they needed to pair Kyrie Irving with, but that blew up in their faces.
Bynum has had a weird two years. From stupid haircuts, blowing his knee out bowling, and rumors of him with an assistant coach’s wife, he’s a head case. He has the talent to be one of the best centers in the game on both sides of the floor, but apparently he has no drive for basketball anymore. It was reported two weeks ago when the Cavs suspended Bynum for “detrimental conduct” that he no longer enjoys playing basketball.
As Robert De Niro says in “A Bronx Tale” – “The saddest thing in life is wasted talent.”
If the market for Bynum is a minimum contract, I have no problem with the Knicks rolling the dice on him. They have nothing to lose this season and the upside is there. If he wants more than that, which he probably does because he seems to be in it for the money as this point, tell him to take a walk. If he doesn’t want to play basketball, don’t bring him into the circus of a Knicks locker room.
The old Bynum would be a perfect player to go up against Roy Hibbert, but we don’t know what Bynum we are getting. If the Heat sign him and he goes back to his Laker days, well then we should just cancel the playoffs and give the Heat their third ring now. The Clippers are also interested, which will be interesting because Bynum will be back in LA but not with the Lakers.
My final statement: Offer Bynum a small one-year deal, if he accepts then roll the dice, the Knicks haven nothing to lose. If he wants more, then tell him to take a hike.