Basketball players who are out of the league try to make comebacks all the time, but there’s something intriguing about the thought of Andrew Bynum trying to give it one more shot. Despite the fact that Bynum has been out of the league since a short stint with the Indiana Pacers in 2014, he’s still relatively young — the former NBA champion doesn’t turn 31 until next month.
Of course, being out of the league for four years and his checkered injury history don’t help his case, nor does the fact that the NBA has gotten away from big men with his skill set. But Bynum has always been talented and doesn’t exactly have a ton of mileage on his metaphorical wheels, so maybe he can make something happen, even if he has a major critic in Paul Pierce.
“This is nothing, let me tell you why,” Pierce said on ESPN’s The Jump. “The Andrew Bynum we saw before he left the game … the game just doesn’t translate to what he does. He was a back to the basket player, really couldn’t shoot. It doesn’t translate to today’s game, I have a better chance of coming back than Andrew Bynum.”
While that last line might be in jest — it’s always hard to tell if “former basketball player says they can still play” is a joke or not — there is some truth to this. Bynum’s game isn’t an especially great fit, as he was never an especially good passer, was never the most mobile guy on earth, and made one of the nine threes he attempted in his eight-year career.
This sort of criticism isn’t deterring Bynum, though, nor is it keeping his most prominent old team from closing the doors on him when he comes calling. According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, Bynum got the opportunity to work out in the Lakers’ facility earlier this week.
Sources: Former Los Angeles Lakers champion center Andrew Bynum worked out in the Lakers' facility this week as he pursues NBA comeback. Not an official Lakers workout, but gave Bynum opportunity for open gym runs.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) September 12, 2018
Charania also tweeted that Bynum has workouts in the cards with other teams, and interestingly enough, that the Lakers have always had an open door when it comes to their former players under this regime. Los Angeles’ depth chart at center isn’t exactly inspiring — it’s JaVale McGee backed up by rookie Moritz Wagner and third-year big Ivica Zubac — but time will tell if that means there’s any interest in the two sides reuniting sometime down the road.
