Los Angeles Lakers exercise their option on Andrew Bynum – NBA News
The Los Angeles Lakers have decided to exercise their $16.1 million option on All-Star centre Andrew Bynum.
The Lakers had to pick up the option on Bynum by June 30th, otherwise Bynum would have become a free agent and the Lakers would have had to compete with other teams in offering Bynum a contract. However, they have gone
ahead with the decision to retain him well before the deadline, indicating that they are happy with the centre and want to keep him in Los Angeles.
Lakers General Manager Mitch Kupchak had said last month that the Lakers would be exercising their option on Bynum.
Bynum had a stellar season this year with the Lakers, averaging a career best 18.7 points and 11.8 rebounds per game. He was named an All Star for the first time in his seven year career, and also made it to the All NBA second
team.
He had some mammoth performances over the course of the season, including a game against the San Antonio Spurs in the regular season when he grabbed 30 rebounds, and a triple double night which included 10 blocks in the series
opener against the Denver Nuggets in the first round of the playoffs.
"I think it's pretty obvious how I feel about Andrew Bynum. He's an incredible All-Star centre, and you can build the future around him,” said Lakers vice president of player personnel Jim Buss to the "Mason & Ireland Show" on
ESPN last week.
There was a momentary confusion regarding Bynum’s future with the Lakers after they were ousted from the 2nd round of the playoffs by the Oklahoma City Thunder this year. After the elimination, team management stated
that there were going to be changes in the offseason, and people were expecting either Bynum or Gasol to be traded as both did not put up impressive performances in the playoffs.
Bryant openly criticized both Bynum and Gasol for not playing with aggression and intensity after their losses to Denver and Oklahoma City in the playoffs. However, now that the Lakers have exercised their option with Bynum, it
is clear that they want the 24 year old to stay with them for the long term, and a contract extension could be on the way as well, even though both parties have said negotiations for extension have not yet started.
With Bynum’s future certain, the uncertainty regarding Gasol’s future with the Lakers increases even more as it has been expected for a while that one of the two big men would be traded by the Lakers. Gasol was involved in a trade
deal that would have landed Chris Paul to the Lakers before the season began. However, the trade did not go through.
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