Having one of your star players hit free agency can be a nasty situation, so it makes sense that the Los Angeles Lakers are concentrating on extending Bynum. Fortunately, though, the Lake Show have time to take the wait-and-see approach with their center.
The news of the on-going talks comes from The Orange County Register's Kevin Ding:
Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak spoke today with Andrew Bynum's agent David Lee about a contract extension for Bynum.
— KEVIN DING (@KevinDing) July 25, 2012 But what's the rush?
First, you've got the Dwight Howard saga, a tale that will never end, no matter how bad we want it to. If the Lakers wanted to trade Bynum for Dwight a week ago, it's hard to imagine that story changing now that the Magic center has stated he would sign an extension in L.A.
That, of course, isn't the problem. The problem is that Orlando has never been satisfied—and rightfully so—with the proposed deals that would send Howard to Los Angeles.
But you have to think this whole thing will start to take a toll on Rob Hennigan and the Magic front office. Howard sitting on the bench in a suit getting mercilessly booed by the home crowd game after game is going to start to get annoying after a while, and eventually the Magic might cave for a lesser offer.
If that should happen, Mitch Kupchak would be there waiting with offers. If he re-signs Bynum, though, the dream of "Howard does Hollywood" would be all but over.
It doesn't end there, however. Much to the chagrin of Howard, this isn't all about, well, Dwight Howard.
If the Lakers choose to go with Bynum as their franchise center moving forward, it's certainly a justifiable decision. He proved this year he can defend the basket almost as well as Howard, and when he has the right mindset, Bynum can be dominant ...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Lakers
