By: Scott Burks
We have all heard about the much-ballyhooed trade that
rocked the NBA world by now: the four-team trade that sent Dwight Howard to the
Los Angeles Lakers for some picks and a couple of scrubs. The part of the four-teamer that folks didn’t
pay as much attention to was the Philadelphia 76ers getting Andrew Bynum.
As a fan of an Eastern Conference team (my New York Knicks),
I believe this trade favors the 76ers more in the immediate future AND in the
long run.
First of all, the Sixers landed arguably the second-best
center in the NBA behind Howard – ESPN First Take’s Skip Bayless would argue
Bynum is the better center. If you
looked closely at the Eastern Conference teams last season, most of the
contending teams went small - the only playoff team with any size was the
Indiana Pacers. I have long said that
the Sixers needed a presence down low to help take the pressure off its
shooters. Bynum will help with Philly’s
offensive rebounding, something they sorely lacked last season.
It also gives the Sixers a legit presence of defense. Gone are the days where the overrated and
overpaid Samuel Dalembert flopped around in the post. Philly has a bonafied 7-footer in Bynum who
could get those defensive rebounds and if motivated, block some shots and deter
opponents from driving the lane.
I could easily picture Bynum helping the Sixers contend in
the Eastern Conference next season – let alone the Atlantic Division. The Boston Celtics play small and are
old. My Knicks may never get it
together. The Brooklyn Nets have a good
team on paper, but Brook Lopez is not big enough to handle Bynum. The Nets will never be more than a
fourth-seed in the Eastern Conference Playoffs.
Simply put, the division is the Sixers’ for the taking
thanks to Bynum. And I think Doug
Collins is the right coach to get the best out of Bynum. Collins will make sure that Bynum will be to
go-to guy on offense. No more playing third
or fourth-fiddle on the Lakers.
While Bynum’s desire of becoming great is the ultimate
wild-card, Philly fans everywhere have reasons to be jubilant.
Scott Burks is author
of the sports blog “The Klown Times”. Follow him on Twitter
@klownchyld_1906 or like “The Klown Times” on Facebook.
1 comments:
If Bynum can stay healthy (a HUGE if) and develop some more maturity (possibly a bigger if) the Sixers could be facing the Thunder in the finals in a couple of years. All it takes is signing one guy that sets the rest of the equation off and they are in the Finals. This could work perfectly as the Celtics would be in rebuilding mode. The Heat will be looking for an injury waiver with Wade falling into pieces on the court. Brooklyn may never live up to the hype.
This was a bold, and potentially brilliant move for Philly.
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