Andrew Bynum, big supporter of self-sabotage

With any lucky, Andrew Bynum will be out of Philadelphia shortly, so I figured I should take advantage of what little time I have left and write yet another piece about Bynum while he is still topical to the 76ers.

This piece ran originally on Philly.com and kicked up a lot of comments; people didn't have a lot of kind words for the big guy. But seriously, refusing to work out for suitors; what is he thinking??

Anyway, check out the original article here, and read more about Bynum's latest *interesting* decision after the jump.

"Andrew Bynum did not play a single second of basketball last season for the 76ers. He bowled, danced, got his hair done, and coerced the organization into dropping six grand on a fancy anti-gravity treadmill, but did not contribute a measly minute to the Sixers on-court endeavors. 

When first signed last summer, Bynum was viewed, albeit briefly, as a potential Sixers savior, or at least as a centerpiece to their championship resurgence. Bynum however made it beyond clear that he was not interested in being the face of the franchise, and public perception of him continued to wane with each setback and “this is my life”-style sound bite. 

At this point Sixer fans are keeping their collective fingers crossed, hoping that Hinkie lets Bynum walk this summer without sinking another cent into the center, which seems likely. 

"Bynum is like the thousands of other young men walking around the world that are unrestricted free agents that have potential to play NBA basketball," Hinkie stated in a press conference; doesn’t exactly sound like the stance of someone dying to bring Bynum back. 

Image from: Bleacherreport.com

So assuming that Bynum’s seemingly laissez faire attitude has soured on the Sixers, and created questions league-wide about his motivation, drive, and desire, along with the lingering injury issues surrounding him, one would think that the young man would be extremely eager to get out on the court and prove that he is still capable of the dominance he displayed in his final season in Los Angeles. 

Well, one would be wrong. Bynum’s agent, David Lee, recently said that there are about a half dozen teams interested in his client’s services, but that the self-absorbed center would not work out for any of them. 

Sure, an interested team can have access to his medical reports and MRI results, but when it comes to observing him doing what said team will potentially be paying him millions to do; no way. 

His last actual NBA action came in late May of 2012, when his Lakers were bounced by the eventual Western Conference champion Thunder; of course interested teams would want to give him a look. It needs to be reiterated; he just missed an entire season due to injury issues. Is he really arrogant enough to expect a suitor to sink millions into him without seeing any signs of positive improvement in over a year?

Either Bynum is a big supporter of self-sabotage, or he is fearful that an actual workout will damage his market value more than it is already damaged; there is no other possible answer. Bynum has grown accustomed to collecting his checks without really working for the funds; a byproduct of being paid $16 million for a season to sit on the sideline, and maybe he fears that a workout will undermine this effort. 

With the Sixers, the checks were going to keep coming whether he got himself out on the court or not; the contract was signed. If a team works him out and sees that he is out of shape and still struggling through an injury issue, they are likely to lowball him and offer an incentive-laden contract, which would require him to work for more money; this hasn’t been Andrew’s MO. 

By refusing to work out, it seems that Bynum is hoping that some sap suitor with deep pockets will see his 2011-2012 statistics and make an offer based on them with no concern of current conditioning. Though you can’t fault him for trying, as this is basically how the Sixers handled the situation last summer, the circumstances surrounding him have changed since then, and his refusal to work out comes off as a counterproductive approach. 

Despite injuries and attitude costing him a max-deal, which seemed certain early last summer, Bynum still has an opportunity to cash in on big bucks this summer, as some team with financial freedom searching for a center will take a chance on him. 

His refusal to work out for said suitors hurts his case however, as it may be viewed as another example of the off-court immaturity that the Sixers organization has grown accustomed to. Bynum will still get paid to play basketball next season, but it will be for substantially less than what was projected prior to the Sixers signing last summer, and it’s safe to say that both sides are looking forward to a fresh start."