Lakers officials are not publicly saying it but trading for Pau Gasol signaled three things: 1) Kwame Brown was unable to shake off the public criticisms and desperately needed a new address, 2) Kobe Bryant finally got his wish and having an All-Star sidekick means he'll remain a Laker for life, and 3) Andrew Bynum's knee injury is a lot more serious than what the team is revealing.
When Bynum's kneecap popped out of place last January, I thought for sure the Lakers were dead in the water. Then, the injury report came out and it read that Bynum was expected to have a full recovery and should be ready by mid-March. Well, not so fast. L.A. Times columnist Kurt Streeter sat down with Bynum over the weekend and reported that there is still some swelling in the knee. Not good. The severity of the injury most likely played a key role in the Lakers going to Plan B and got the Gasol deal done ASAP.
The good news is, age is on Bynum's side and the swelling could go down in the next week or so. Once it does, the big man can start running again. The bad news is, will the kneecap stay in place? History shows that once the kneecap is dislodged the chances of having it slide out of place again is very high. Another concern is how Bynum will deal with this type of injury. Will he favor the knee? Will he become hesitant? I don't know. Some players can play through injuries and some can't. Time will tell which category Bynum falls in.
But the Lakers are moving on, with or without Bynum. They're 5-2 on their current nine-game road trip and have two awful teams at the end of it (Charlotte and Minnesota). It goes to show that they are still a championship team even without Bynum and there is no reason to doubt the Lakers will be playing in June.
Keywords: Andrew Bynum, Lakers
Comments
Indeed Bynum's kneecap is worrisome, maniLA ice.
What do you think of my latest post -- is the extent of Kobe's finger injury (& the probability of re-aggravation) even more troubling for us Lakers fans? Bynum had just barely emerged -- Kobe's the frickin' franchise. Bynum injury is of course more serious for the long haul, & yeah we want that reliable power center, but the team's right here/right now title fortunes rest with Kobe's shooting hand, now that Gasol's onboard helping the rest of the team gel.