Howard Smith- USA Today Sports
Let’s cut to the chase with Andrew Bynum. Bynum is a player that has been in the NBA for quite some time — since 2005 to be exact.
This is a player that has had issues with his ego, not willing to learn from legends of the game like Kareem Abdul Jabar on his post game, which has notoriously been confirmed by Stephen A. Smith of ESPN.
This is also a player who is coming off serious knee issues in recent years which forced him to settle for a two-year deal worth $24 million with incentives from the Cleveland Cavaliers. Not to mention Bynum is also a player who is known for not taking basketball seriously.
So if you take out his ego, his knee issues, and his unwillingness to study the game basketball day in, and day out, he’s a perfect risk to take for an NBA team.
Too bad the NBA doesn’t work that way. Does this mean he has bad character? Of course not. Does this mean he is a risk and if the Cavaliers get fooled in any fashion it’s their fault? Yes.
When the Los Angeles Lakers quickly dropped Bynum for Dwight Howard in 2012 when Bynum was not only the superior offensive player, but a player the Lakers won two championships with, that should tell a lot of people what they need to know.
Even if Bynum plays well over the next two years for the Cavaliers, who is to say he won’t check out and stop playing to his capabilities? Nobody knows. You can give Bynum all of the incentives you want, but you still don’t know what you are getting down the road.
There are too many issues to consider with Bynum. Maybe one day he will figure it all out, and good for him if he does. But right now the risk is too much.
Wola Odeniran is a writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter at WolaOdeniran52.
