The charm of Andrew Bynum has always been his openness.
He’s like Marmaduke … so big and unrefined, often overexcited or a touch overzealous, completely straightforward. The oversized puppy who is indeed the youngest player in NBA history still proudly wears that No. 17 to signify his early entry age.
Over the past five years, Bynum has given the Lakers more and more reasons to believe he’s no longer a “Big Baby,” as he was initially nicknamed by tutor Kareem Abdul-Jabbar – the foremost reason being a saintly determination to march through the pain last season and contribute to a championship.
A reminder of what Bynum isn’t, though, has already been sent for this season – before this season even starts.
Bynum put off having offseason surgery on his right knee so he could play – and we’re not talking about playing basketball. He could’ve repaired the knee immediately after last season, but he postponed it to travel – to see the soccer World Cup in South Africa and then vacation in Europe, as he had the previous summer.
Bynum didn’t want to be on crutches, which would’ve diminished all that fun stuff or required rescheduling. He even had the knee drained, just as he did repeatedly with much ado in the playoffs to keep playing, so he could keep pivoting around reasonably well as a sightseer.
Yes, Bynum’s doctor did push back the surgery date also – from July 18 to July 28 – because of scheduling issues, but Bynum’s doctor was indeed available to perform the procedure before Bynum went globetrotting. It was Bynum’s choice to enjoy himself, assuming he’d be fine by the time the 2010-11 season came – even though his complications with knees are well known and his past healings have been measured by sundial.
Lakers spokesman John Black said Wednesday there is an “outside chance” Bynum will play in the final exhibition games and the club is “hopeful” Bynum can play in the Oct. 26 regular-season opener.
The Lakers certainly aren’t going to win or lose a third consecutive NBA championship in October or even November, so some might say that this is no big deal. Certainly Scottie Pippen and Shaquille O’Neal would say that, and the fact that two such all-time greats have let offseason surgeries slip while on Phil Jackson’s watch indicates that there’s no ruinous shame in this sort of thing.
The 1997-98 Bulls – after much turmoil and discord surrounding Pippen – still won their third consecutive (and final) title after Pippen waited to take care of his foot.
The 2002-03 Lakers had already won three in a row when O’Neal waited to take care of his toe. They would not win again.
Bynum’s postponement is not as significant in time or talent as those, but there is serious danger in this sort of inactivity. The message is clear:
I won. I can afford to let it slide.
Remind me, didn’t the Lakers just finish a defending-championship season in which they were almost more complacent than competitive?
Bynum, who turns 23 in a month, has his fun with cars and video games and books and computers. He has managed to be documented in party mode at the Playboy Mansion, a UCLA frat party and a club where he was “making it rain” on his 21st birthday. He just took another vacation over Labor Day to Cabo with about 17,000 family members and friends.
That’s all fine.
Even delaying this surgery would’ve been fine – albeit risky – if the net result was fine.
But when you get to the bottom line and you’re not ready to punch the clock, advance the cohesion still not yet attained with fellow tower Pau Gasol or run hard toward your self-declared goal of making your first All-Star team … then you should be criticized. Not condemned, but criticized.
It’s at times like these that we remember the Lakers’ coaches still can’t get Bynum to run hard, as simple as that sounds, up and down the court. His work ethic and dedication have improved sensationally since he arrived as a teen, but he’s obviously not the consummate professional.
Here’s hoping Bynum never stops saying his personal catch-phrase of “That’s crazy!” or adding “super” as an all-purpose extra word (if he’s really excited, out will come two or three “supers”). Don’t ever take away that wonderful, child-like quality in Bynum’s always-wide eyes.
But just because you do something – and this was Bynum’s first real title, because he’ll tell you the one before when he hardly played didn’t feel anything like this – doesn’t mean you then don’t do something more.
Bynum should be primed to step forward again. He’s that good, and there’s valid reason Lamar Odom has been thinking he’ll play more small forward this season. There should be, in theory, no keeping the up-and-coming Bynum off the court.
He’s getting $13.7 million this season. Most on the team aside from Kobe Bryant and Gasol. Almost as much as Odom and Ron Artest combined.
That’s not even counting the $1.3 million more in incentives Bynum could earn – as the Lakers try every which way to keep motivating him.
That’s who Bynum remains, the fire inside not yet a flame: Sometimes he’ll give more, sometimes he’ll just take it for granted.
