Los Angeles Lakers set to extend Andrew Bynum contract – NBA Update
The Los Angeles Lakers are all set to use a one-year contract extension option of centre Andrew Bynum. The player has been a revelation this season and the Lakers don’t want him to go anywhere else.
Bynum has actually been linked with a move away from the Lakers for quite some time. Los Angeles were believed to be pursuing Orlando Magic super star Dwight Howard and Bynum was supposed to be the trade bait. That though has changed this season.
While Howard has decided to stay another year with the Magic, Bynum has established himself as a dominant centre and a mainstay of the Lakers. His numbers have improved dramatically and he made it to the Western All-Star Team’s starting centre spot.
It is this terrific improvement that has Lakers General Manager itching for the contract extension to be done and dusted with as soon as possible. Why would Kupchak pass on a the $16.1 million option for a player who is averaging 18.1 points and 12.9 rebounds
per game, career bests, and looks set to improve further.
"He's the starting centre on the West All-Star team. Why wouldn't we do everything we could to keep him here?" Kupchak said, according to the Los Angeles Times. "We're ecstatic to have him on the team."
For his part, Bynum has always insisted he wants to stay at the club. Los Angeles are one of the most storied franchises in the NBA, and definitely the most glamorous, so it isn’t a surprise that the 7 footer doesn’t want to move away.
"I want to sign," Bynum told ESPNLosAngeles.com on Tuesday. "I want to be a Laker."
His agent, David Lee, confirmed that Bynum is open to a long term contract, apart from the 1 year option which must be taken up before June 30.
"Their call," Lee told ESPNLosAngeles.com. "Ball's in their court."
Even Los Angeles’ resident super star Kobe Bryant is happy with the way Bynum has been playing, and was all for extending his contract.
"I think it's great," Bryant told reporters Tuesday. "It's well deserved, obviously."
It wasn’t always as rosy. Kobe is known to have repeatedly tried having Bynum traded away from the franchise, and even had a falling out with the management when they decide to retain the promising centre.
Even last year, after the Lakers humiliating exit from the NBA playoffs at the hands of eventual NBA World Champions Dallas Mavericks, the friction between the two was visible. Bynum complained about not being a part of the Lakers offense as much as he warranted
while Kobe dismissed him, telling the media that the centre will have to “get in line”.
The two now seem set to continue playing together, at least until the end of the 2012-2013 season, when a new contract would have to be negotiated with Andrew.
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