Los Angeles Lakers: The Impact Of An Andrew Bynum-Pau Gasol Swap

For Andrew Bynum:

Bynum’s time in the league isn’t done unless he wants it to be. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

For Andrew Bynum, this move is not the end of his career (unless he wants it to be, since there are a lot of rumors swirling about his desire to keep playing in the NBA). If he were to be traded to the Lakers, they would immediately waive him before the Jan. 7 deadline, but he would become a free agent that could be picked up by a number of teams.

By my estimation, there are three teams that could pick up Bynum. The first is the Miami Heat, who have already shown they dabble in low risk, high reward investments. Picking up Greg Oden has gained them nothing to this point, but signing him to a cheap contract in the hopes that he’s healthy for the playoffs could become a brilliant move if he actually plays. The same goes for Bynum, who has already shown himself to be much more durable than Oden. As for his attitude, if LeBron James can influence Michael Beasley into becoming a productive role player, he can probably do the same with Bynum.

The second team is the Los Angeles Clippers, who sorely need some help in the frontcourt. Blake Griffin has been on a tear this year and has vastly improved his game. DeAndre Jordan is a rebounding and shot-blocking machine. But after that the Clippers rely on Ryan Hollins and Byron Mullens to get the job done in the paint, which is nowhere near a recipe for success. How Doc Rivers gets Bynum to buy into the team is another matter, but Bynum would give Lob City some much-needed frontcourt depth.

Finally, we have the Brooklyn Nets. It’s true that the Nets have already denied an interest in trading Brook Lopez after his season-ending injury, but is it really crazy to not believe they’d sign Bynum if they could? Without Lopez, the Nets are badly overpowered in the paint. Kevin Garnett is having by far the worst season of his career and after that, the Nets trot out the likes of Andray Blatche, Mirza Teletovic, Mason Plumlee and Reggie Evans in the frontcourt. Can we really take them at their word that Brooklyn doesn’t see the need for even a diminished talent like Bynum in the paint?

Bynum’s career isn’t finished if he wants to keep making money and keep playing basketball. He’ll never be a top-three center in the league again. He’ll never challenge Dwight Howard in the paint. And he’ll probably never help lead a team to relevance in the playoff picture. But Bynum’s too big and too talented to not become a backup center for some decent team, or a starting center from some injury-riddled team. Just as long as his conduct isn’t so detrimental, that is.