When the Philadelphia 76ers traded Andre Iguodala, along with young prospects Nikola Vucevic and Moe Harkless for Jason Richardson and Andrew Bynum, many Philly fans thought it was too good to be true. Unfortunately for Sixers fans it looks like that is the case.
The all-star big man, who many think is the second best center in the NBA behind Dwight Howard hasn’t played a game for the Sixers this season and maybe never will.
After being out the entire pre-season most, fans expected Bynum to be back on the hardwood for the season opener. The season is now 20 percent over and there are no signs he will be back any time soon.
Sixers GM Tom DiLeo said, “Bottom line is Andrew is out indefinitely. There are no timelines; we just have to wait and see how he reacts.”
When it comes to Bynum’s game, immaturity has always been a question. At one point last season he took the ball up court and shot a 3-pointer when he really shouldn’t be shooting anything outside of 10 feet from the basket. Two years ago, he blatantly elbowed Mavericks point guard, JJ Barea in a playoff game as the Lakers were on the verge of getting swept.
Bynum has now re-aggravated his knee injury during a bowling incident, which caused a set back in rehab that may cause him to miss the entire year. Bowling when you can’t practice with your team probably isn’t the best idea and is just one of the many “questionable” choices Bynum has made in his seven-year career.
On the flipside, the Sixers are 10-8 without Bynum, and currently sit at third in the Atlantic division 3 games out of the division lead. The departure of Andre Iguodala has led too much improved play by Jrue Holiday and Evan Turner.
Holiday is averaging close to 20 points per game and is currently second in the league in assists per game averaging 9.3. Holiday is an early candidate for the Most Improved Player of the Year Award and it looks like he could be headed to his first all-star game appearance.
Evan Turner is averaging 14.1 points per game and 7.1 rebounds per game so far this year. He has also scored 22 or more points in three of his last four games.
This is a contract year for Bynum and if he doesn’t return to the court this year it’s hard to predict what’s going to happen. A big man with his talent is hard to come by in the NBA and if the Sixers don’t make an offer it’s guaranteed some desperate team will throw a lot of cash his way. The good thing for the Sixers is that they have remained competitive without him. They will probably make the playoffs and maybe even make it to the second round but without a strong post presence will be hard to get any further then that.
And Andrew please cut your hair. The Frederick Douglass look isn’t in style right now and we don’t know that it ever has been. Thanks.
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