I, Dante Nelson, am going to use this post as the last time I make comments on Andrew Bynum and his status for the rest of the season. Why? Because at this point, his latest setback will most likely keep him out of the regular season. And he hasn’t played this season. And…and…I’m tired of keeping up.
I gave up hope that Bynum would play in January. By then, he had just started running and yet the Sixers and Bynum said he would be back in February. I wasn’t buying it.
There’s a small debate that perhaps the Sixers’ ownership lied to us all. That they knew Bynum wouldn’t play and just wanted to try to get some ticket sales and stay relevant. While I normally don’t address these things, this is my final Bynum post so I figured I’d share some words on it. It would make sense that the ownership would do that. But I can’t accept that. Maybe I’m naive. Maybe the Christian in me just doesn’t want to accept that such dishonesty exists although don’t get me wrong I know there is much corruption in this world. If the Sixers think I’m stupid though, they have another thing coming.
No, I can’t max Bynum. Why? In his one good year, he played at a high level. And that’s all well and good but The man hasn’t played all year. He hasn’t been able to play basketball. I mean come on. And yes he’s 25 but he’s been in the league since 2005. That’s a while and his body could be meeting the end here. His knees could be shutting down. This goes for all players. I don’t go by biological age as often as I go by NBA years.
This was the right trade. I agree with the principle. We know people are never going to be fully satisfied. Here are all of the different scenarios:
- Sixers don’t trade for Bynum. Fans find out they could’ve had him and wonder why ownership didn’t take risk.
- (our current scenario) Sixers get Bynum. He doesn’t play or live up to expectations. Fans hate trade and question why the Sixers were willing to take damaged goods.
So what about this off-season?
- Sixers max Bynum but it ends up being a bust. Ruland comparisons run rampant.
- Sixers max Bynum and it all works out. Bynum dominates and Sixers have years of success.
- Sixers let Bynum walk and Bynum plays well for another team.
In each scenario, the fans will be in an uproar if Bynum doesn’t play for the Sixers. And it will be the same people. I am not for maxing Bynum. Instead, I would like to bring him on for 2-3 years. It won’t kill the team really and if it works out then it works out. I feel like Bynum’s career is heading the Greg Oden route and he will, from now on, struggle to be on the court.
And again, I’m tired of that. I would like a sure thing. Having an average Center playing has to be better than a possibly elite Center that can’t play. Everything is better than Hawes. Every time Bynum jumps, we’re holding our breath that when he lands his knees don’t shatter on the court. And then we’re stuck with a Elton Brand scenario. Nope.
If there’s one thing we can take from this is that, for a at least a moment, we had a legitimate hope of escaping mediocrity. We had dreams of championships. Not for this season but for future seasons. And felt good about the team. And then we heard the setbacks. The bowling. And the hope kept fading, and fading, and fading. And we couldn’t catch a break. The team on the court started off strong. And, seemingly coinciding with the Bynum updates, the team started playing worse and worse. And now this team is pretty much a joke.
Is there hope for the future? Will things with Bynum work out? I lean towards yes for the first question and no for the second. But, I had promised myself that if Bynum plays for another team after the Sixers let him walk, I won’t be mad at the Sixers for letting him walk. I can’t.
What I am going to do now is ignore future Bynum updates until the season is over. I don’t care for it anymore. And I think it’s because we know what the end result will be. Even the hair updates bore me.
This is the conclusion of my ramble/rant. Perhaps the rest of the staff here will keep you up to date with the latest Bynum news but not I. As editor, you would think that I should. But, I’m pretty sure most of us don’t care anymore. Most of us are probably ready to move on. In the meantime, let’s keep our eyes on the draft prospects and hope the Sixers don’t completely implode during the tough month of March.