Lakers' Bynum on the rise - and in a big way

Stroy found on SportingNews.com by Stan McNeal
Seven things to know about Lakers center Andrew Bynum -- one for each foot of his tall, lanky frame: His stock is climbing. And fast. Consider: I asked several scouts, execs and a couple of media types this question in recent days: If you're the Lakers, would you trade Andrew Bynum and Lamar Odom for Amare Stoudemire? The consensus was a resounding no. The best answer: "Two months ago, I would have done that. Today, no way. Bynum has come that far that fast."

Anyone who watched Suns-Lakers on Christmas Day would think hard to make a Bynum-for-Amare deal straight up. Of course, that couldn't happen because of salary restrictions. Bynum is making $2.1 million, Stoudemire $13.7 million.

He may be the third best center in the league right now. After Dwight Howard and Yao Ming (not necessarily in that order), who would you rather have? Chris Kaman possibly; he has better numbers but they don't seem to be helping the Clippers all that much. Shaq is having trouble just staying on the court. Stoudemire is a forward playing out of position. Tyson Chandler is too one-dimensional. Same with Marcus Camby. Who else? Eddy Curry? Please. A scout told me he watched Bynum "destroy" Curry two years ago. Ben Wallace? Funny. If Bynum doesn't make your top three now, give him a year or so. He just turned 20 in October.

And he may not even be starting in a week. Lakers assistant Kurt Rambis told me last week when the Lakers were in Cleveland that Bynum's minutes will go down when Kwame Brown returns from knee and ankle injuries, which reportedly will be as soon as his conditioning is up to Phil Jackson's standards. Jackson won't even say if Bynum will keep the starting job. To that I say, watch and see. The only area in which Brown is better than Bynum is one-on-one defense, but Bynum more than compensates with his offense, rebounding and shot blocking on help defense.

Don't let that baby face and easy smile fool you. He is tougher than he looks. More than one scout told me unsolicited that they have been most impressed with how completely Bynum seems to move past last summer's criticism from Kobe Bryant. ("Blanking ship his blank out," Kobe allegedly said in one of his now infamous parking lot interviews.) I asked Bynum how he was able to put the low blows behind him so easily, and he shrugged. He said he was even more motivated to work out with a personal trainer for the first time to be sure he was ready for training camp.

Of course, Kobe's singing a different tune these days. As Bynum has emerged as the second most productive player on the Lakers, the Lakers have been playing like the second-best team in the West. Kobe has been consistently tooting Bynum's horn, telling the media what he's been most impressed by is Bynum's work ethic. Those who are there say Bynum regularly is the second Laker to show up and the second-to-last Laker to leave. Yes, Kobe would know because he's the lone Laker to put in longer hours than Bynum.

And to think, the kid doesn't have even have any moves yet. Rambis is not the only one who says that Bynum hasn't even "scratched the surface" of his potential. Offensively, for example, he's scoring the majority of his points (averaging 14.8 points in December, including a career-high 28 in the Christmas Day victory over Stoudemire) on putbacks and alleys. Jackson has done a nice job having the Lakers look for Bynum on the oops, and Bynum has such soft hands and good coordination that he handles even off-the-mark passes. He has shown a nice little jump hook, especially to the right, and a power dribble-dunk move, but that's about it. But give him time ...

He is learning from the master. None other than Kareem Abdul-Jabbar works with Bynum at every home practice, focusing on footwork and balance, important ingredients in holding his position and absorbing contact inside. Abdul-Jabbar has shown Bynum the sky hook, and Bynum says he plans to break it out one day. But that day is a ways away. Bynum says his balance is not good enough to attempt it in a game. One bump from a defender and the sky hook too easily becomes an air-ball hook.

And finally, one thing to contemplate: No one expects Bynum to continue to improve at this rate -- but let's say he becomes more productive than his more famous teammate? Will Kobe look at Bynum the way he used to look at Shaq? Will Bynum tell some Internet blogger to ship out Kobe? Or will the Lakers have a one-two punch that makes them very serious championship contenders? If Kobe is smart, he'll stay away from No. 1 to make sure Bynum doesn't opt for No. 2 and the answer becomes No. 3.

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