Lets see.. in 3 years there will be.. Yao + Amare + Howard at the top of the list... Then you add in possible players who might turn out better than Bynum like Horford + Al Jefferson (<- More of a PF but played a role of C alot this year), + Oden .. And Bynum will be a Top 5-6 ish.. maybe Top 3 if he can elevate his game
My point exactly. It's on him to keep improving. But mark my word, he definitely has the raw skills to get it done if he works hard.
In the same season, Bynum goes from splitting time with KWAME BROWN to becoming a top 3 center? Whoever did that is sure overrating him. But I dont think thats everyone. He's getting rated about where he should, as a promising young center around Tyson Chandler level, with potential to climb further.
There is a reason Bynum played 20 plus minutes per game. That is he is overweight and has stamina issue!
The guy plays for the Lakers. What Laker isn't overhyped by their own media? We do the same thing with our Rockets. The difference is we don't play in LA where Smush Parker was a star! Scola, Brooks, and Landry aren't exactly familiar names unless you're from here and a fan. Is Luke Walton an All Star? Is Farmar gonna make the next All Star team? I think Bynum will become a serviceable center at best. If he ever gets as good as Brad Miller they should be ecstatic with their pick. He wasn't the 10th overall pick because he was projected to be the next Shaq or Hakeem. And teams will gamble with 7 footers much higher in the draft. The best thing he has going for him is playing with Kobe, Odom, and Gasol so he won't be targeted to get double teamed since he seems to be at the bottom of the pecking order.
I think Bynum has a nice upside but he is overrated. He is talked about as if he has already reached his potential or at the very least like he is going to reach it any day now. I think he is very capable of becoming a 20/12 guy in the next 2 seasons but until he does that it is annoying to listen to people rant about a guy who put up 13/10 on a team that had no other true big man.
I think Bynum will be a good center, hard to say if he will be great. He will difference maker for the Lakers. But at same hand, I think he will be on par with Kaman and Bogut (who has been improving every season), both are good centers. Some posters say I will be calling him scrub, but he's not and he doesn't have same kind gamebreaking skills that Yao and Howard have.
you're the one who said he WILL (not could) be top 2 or 3 in just a couple of years. sounds exactly like bspn.
So many comments getting taken out of context. I'm not equating it with "ignorance" but A3PO said he "buys into the hype of what we will be IF he works hard". Its pretty decisive but not really a "Mark my WORDS" absolute. T-mac&Yao=italics said something of top 2 centers and people thought he included Bynum when he meant Yao & Dwight Howard. There aren't that many quality centers and its a highly visible position on the floor, so any good prospect like Greg Oden stands to get talked up. That doesnt happen as much with PGS, swingmen and PF's.
I did a quick google search and only found this in the first two results pages: http://www.sportingnews.com/yourturn/viewtopic.php?t=425065 I heard more "and the Lakers are without Bynum" late in the season and early in the preseason than I heard about any other team missing a starting player So "rant" was the wrong word but I think his current value was exaggerated. I guess I should be more thoughtful in how I word my posts.
No prob. Of the 4 teams in the conference finals, Bynum was the best player that was out for the season. I think the discussion was merited. I also think some here are exaggerating how much Bynum's value has been exaggerated.
I agree. After re-reading some posts as well as some national media articles I think I was exaggerating about the exaggerating. Thanks for keeping me honest.
DOB: 10/27/87 (20 years old) Height: 7'1" (he's grown an inch since he was drafted, and doctors expect him to grow another inch!) Weight: 280-290 lbs Wingspan: 7'7" Standing Reach: 9'5" Basically, he's young, athletic, and HUGE. But his size isn't the only great thing about him, his performance was excellent this past year. These were his stats this past season.... Code: Season G GS MP PPG RPG BPG APG FG% FT% 07-08 35 25 28.8 13.1 10.2 2.1 1.7 .636 .695 He's averaging 13/10/2 in less than 30 minutes of action while being extremely efficient. His numbers as a 20 year old are comparable to Dwight Howard's at the same age. I guess he might be overhyped by some Lakers homers who say he's the Next Shaq blah blah blah, but the kid is the goods. He has MONSTER potential. I'm talking Tim Duncan type numbers (22/12/3), although it'd be foolish to expect him to have as good of a career as Duncan (one of the best ever). His scoring will probably be down due to having Pau along with Kobe, but he's already an impact player and is just going to get better and better. Adding him to a team that went to the WC Finals is scary.
As I said many times before, I see Bynum becoming one of the top four centers in the league, the other three being Yao, Oden and Howard. Of course, that is excluding career altering injuries. He is a max player in my opinion.
Maybe not on this site but on other basketball forums, people are already putting him in the "Top 3 Centers" list. I'd like to see him put up consistent numbers for 2-3 years before I put him up that high.
I doubt you saw any forum except a Lakers forum where people were putting Bynum in the top 3 centers in the NBA as of now. And even on the Lakers forum, there are plenty of people (probably a majority) who know how immature the guy is. I'm with you that he has to show consistency over a period of time before getting major props. In 06/07, he showed me enough that there was hope and that the Lakers better not trade him. But he tailed off pretty bad after a good start. This past season, Bynum showed a lot more, but 35 games isn't enough. Averaging 10+ rebs/game for a 20 year-old player is very good and he is a decent shot-blocker. But he clearly has the potential to be a dynamic offensive player if he works hard. He has good hands, coordination and touch, none of which can be taught. What he has to show next season is the ability to endure the 82 game grind and play well game after game after game. It will come in time and the Lakers will have a franchise-level center. Hopefully Kobe will start declining real fast.
