The O.C. – Bynum-Cavs: A Match Made In Heaven?
So Andrew Bynum is heading to Cleveland and it’s time to sit back and evaluate what we’ve just seen.
The state of Bynum’s knees was such a red flag to the entire league that even the relatively small $6 million that the Cavs guaranteed him was the only real offer the former All-Star had. Yet Bynum gives Cleveland nothing but upside and becomes the highest-profile free agent signing the franchise has ever seen.
Is this a story book marriage? No, but the fact is they need each other.
Bynum is fighting for his career after a disastrous season with Philadelphia in which he was unable to participate in just one depressing practice and not a single game because of chronic knee problems. On the Cavs end, they’re fighting for relevancy, post-LeBron, and to make it back to the playoffs after a three-year rebuilding process.
Bynum was unwilling to work out with any of the teams who courted him this summer. Chris Broussard of ESPN.com claims a source told him Bynum’s ‘gotten fat’ and that he ‘hasn’t handled a ball in weeks.’ All bad signs. But he was willing to provide recent MRIs of both knees, which both were operated on in March, and met with team doctors from the Cavs, Atlanta Hawks and Dallas Mavericks.
What is most concerning is that Bynum has suffered damage to cartilage in both knees and seemed to get worse after receiving the infamous blood-spinning procedure in Germany last summer. He missed an entire season even though his only major injury came from a night of bowling. This is most likely why after meeting the only offer forthcoming was from Dan Gilbert and the Cavs.
Because of it, though, the Cavs are going into this with open eyes. They are well aware a player of Bynum’s quality (ranked 3rd on our free-agents list) unless he was deemed ‘damaged goods’ elsewhere in the league. They are also well aware that Bynum, still a young man has earned more than $60m in his career, and could have walked away into retirement but has some motivation to overcome these problems and prove he can still play at an elite level.
A year ago, the Cavs were the leaders of trade talks, with the Orlando Magic and Los Angeles Lakers involving Bynum and Dwight Howard. Ultimately the Cavs pulled out due to concern over Bynum’s knees and worry over losing future draft picks on a player who might not re-sign in Cleveland when he became a free agent this summer.
The Cavs were realistic then and they are now. They are hopeful that Bynum’s knees will be in good enough shape for him to take part in training camp, but they aren’t pinning their hopes on it. They are hoping he’ll be able to be their starting center, but they have backup plans in place.
Last season Cleveland paid just over $10m to Baron Davis as part of an amnesty payoff. They paid nearly $3m to Kelenna Azubuike and Josh Selby, but neither appeared in a game.
So Dan Gilbert was anxious to take a gamble on Bynum for just that $6m partial guarantee. If he hits all the benchmarks in the contract, most of which are tied to games plays, the Cavs will be more than happy to pay him the full $12m. The same for the $12m team option in 2014-15.
Considering a year ago the 76ers coughed up Andre Iguodala, Nikola Vecevic and two first-round picks to get Bynum, I highly doubt the Cavs will be losing sleep over committing to this deal.
For Bynum, a 25-yeard-old 7-footer who is just a year removed from averaging 18.7 points, 11.8 rebounds and shot 56% while playing in 60 of 66 possible games in a lockout shortened season.
The Cavs have a stacked, but fragile roster. They have Anderson Varejao, a talented big man who has managed to play just 81 games in the past three season. They have No.1 overall pick Anthony Bennett, who is missing the summer due to a shoulder injury and needs to drop some weight, they have Tristan Thompson a breakout second year player, and Tyler Zeller who was on the All-Rookie team.
If healthy that group has the potential to become one of the deepest big-man rotations in the Eastern Conference, if not the league. With young All-Star Kyrie Irving, who has also faced injuries, All-Rookie team member Dion Waiters and veteran addition Jarret Jack, the Cavs also feel like they have a very strong guard rotation as well.
It’s going to take some health, luck and, in Bynum’s case, potentially overcoming medical odds. But what makes this situation palatable is that everyone knows it.
If it fails, the parties will move on and probably not have it define the season. But if it works out, the Cavs will be one of the surprise teams in the league. Now that’s a free-agency deal that’s hard to pass up.
