Ok if you read the last post, I proved I'm no Laker insider. GM Mitch Kupchak, on certain direction from Team Owner Jerry Buss, inked Bynum to a 4 yr 58 million contract late Wednesday. He will average $14/year. Here he is "making it rain" at his 21st birthday....
Is he worth it? On second review, yes. Would I have signed him so early in the season, no. But, I don't own the Lakers. So that's a stupid question. My bad.
Again, Bynum was set to become a restricted free agent at the end of the season. Meaning he could test his worth on the market, and the Lakers would most certainly match any offer.
So why now - just 2 games into the season? Did Laker brass think signing Bynum now would cost them less if a bidding war surfaced in the off season? The answer is yes. Welcome to the new NBA. Teams clear cap space by trading some of the most talented players in the NBA. Next year's crop of free agent talent has been targeted as the year for franchises to reverse their fortune. Many teams will dump players to contenders prior to the playoffs to make room for the bidding.
New York is one such team. Speculation was that New York would make a run at Lebron James. So what is their plan B? Was it Bynum? Well, we will never know. However, you can be certain that the Knicks would pay a healthy Bynum more than $14mil/year.
So kudos to Mitch and the Lakers. A healthy Bynum is literally a game changer. It's fun to watch the kid. He appears lazy at times, but if you cue him on the defensive end you will immediately see his value. A sequence of 3 consecutive Clipper possesions on Wednesday night resulted in 1 Bynum block, 2 Clipper shot alterations from Bynum's presence, and 3 defensive rebounds.
Did you notice: Chris Mihm made a late-game appearance despite a nasty fall versus Portland. It should remind us all that health is everything to this team.
Player of the game (aside from Kobe): Jordan Farmar. 15 points, 5 assists, 5 rebounds. Does this guy look like a backup? I might program my TEVO for only the
2nd and 4th quarters this season just to see this guy play. With Farmar and Obama, big ears are back in this season!
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