Bynum Says He’s Outgrown Kareem
There comes a time for the student to leave the mentor. But is Bynum really there?
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ORLANDO, FL - JUNE 09: Andrew Bynum #17 of the Los Angeles Lakers is introduced before Game Three of the 2009 NBA Finals against the Orlando Magic on June 9, 2009 at Amway Arena in Orlando, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
Ah, the brash confidence of youth. Or the stupidity.
Andrew Bynum has had the greatest center in Lakers history — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar — as a personal tutor since he was drafted by the team at 17. But at 22, Bynum told Kareem it’s not you, it’s me.
Sources close to the team said Abdul-Jabbar will be playing a lesser role with both the Lakers and Bynum this season….Abdul-Jabbar expressed disappointment in Bynum and the situation, saying, "I think there are things that have to do with basketball that he could learn but he's getting on in years."
Bynum said he understood his mentor's feelings, but that it's not personal and just a natural evolution for him in his career.
"I understand where he's coming from," Bynum said. "It's definitely tough (for him). As of right now, I have my direction and he's still helping me. As long as he doesn't stop helping me, everything is going to be fine.”
Bynum and Abdul-Jabbar did not work out together all summer.
Bynum has a world of talent but his court awareness and understanding of how to use his gifts is sometimes lacking. Basically, he plays like a young kid who did not get a lot of formal basketball schooling in his youth. Which is exactly what he is.
Abdul-Jabbar was the opposite of that, a polished, professional center who understands the game. He was one of the smoothest players at the center position ever, someone well suited to teach the fundamentals of the game.
The two working together seemed natural, and was sort of a passing of the torch from one Lakers center to another. And there comes a time for the student to move on from the teacher — Kareem learned from John Wooden but did not always do things the way that mentor wanted. The time to move on comes.
For Bynum, it is all about results. If Bynum stays healthy and plays to the potential he has shown in flashes, if he can give the Lakers 12 points, 10 rebounds and provide a big defensive presence in the paint tonight, nobody will care who his mentor is.
But if Bynum regresses, if he still looks like a little kid in a big body, somebody had better get Kareem on the line. Fast.
Kurt Helin lives in Los Angeles where he is runs the NBA/Lakers blog Forum Blue & Gold (which you can also follow in twitter).
