This is kind of out of nowhere, right? But, as reported by intrepid BSB reporter, J, the Sixers have indeed acquired 24-year old enigmatic, yet other-worldly talented center, Andrew Bynum from the Lakers for Andre Iguodala, Nicola Vucevic, and Mo Harkless. Wow!
Here are my immediate reactions, without hearing anything but the players involved:
You Gotta Love it!
Any time you can get a top 3 center, you kind of have to do it. Oh, and did I mention that he’s only 24? Plus, in an era, where it’s increasingly difficult, yet increasingly important to acquire a true superstar, you have to take a chance sometimes to get one. And, being the 8-seed in the Eastern Conference every year would make it next to impossible to get a star.
Will Bynum Stay?
This deal becomes REALLY bad, REALLY fast if Andrew Bynum becomes Philly’s version of Dwight Howard (who, by the way, was a part of this deal, in case you haven’t heard…)
Iggy Will Be Missed More than People Realize, But Could Open the Door For Development Elsewhere
The dude is good. But, as has been said many, many times, he’s not irreplaceable, and the Sixers have about a thousand swingmen on the team, so this might actually be good for guys like Evan Turner, newly-acquired Nick Young, and even Thaddeus Young.
How Good is Mo Harkless Going to Be?
Not that there is ANY reason to hold up the acquisition of a 24-year old stud center for a guy who played 1 decent year at St. John’s, but there are a lot of people very high on Harkless. That being said, to get something big, you have to be willing to part with something big. Let’s just not think that Bynum is the only risk the Sixers took here. They also took a risk by unloading a guy with tremendous upside.
When was the last time the Sixers made a big move that was universally praised? I honestly can’t remember a single one. Maybe when they traded for Moses Malone? That was 1982! 30 years ago!
Two red flags for Bynum that everybody knows about: health and attitude. Looking at it positively though, the talk has been that this year will be Bynum evaluating the Sixers franchise and seeing if he wants to stay long-term. On the other hand, it also gives the Sixers a chance to evaluate HIM, and see if they want to commit to him with $100 million.
Either way, like you say, if Bynum bolts after the season, you look back on this trade as a failure. BUT, that doesn’t mean it was a mistake. It was just a calculated risk, and I think one you have to take, especially when you’ve been mired in mediocrity for going on ten years.
Right now the Sixers have a ton of young assets, and even if it doesn’t work out with this nucleus, they have plenty of flexibility to re-make the roster. There’s not a single contract on the roster that you can point to as a problem, and that alone is something you haven’t been able to say about this team for a long time, and that you actually can’t say about most teams in the league, probably.
Loving the idea of a starting line-up with Bynum, Holiday, Turner, and Thad Young. Then you can go big if you want by putting Hawes or Lavoy in there, or you go smaller with Richardson, Dorell Wright, or Nick Young.