Buy N' Him

Bynum's development has closed the gap
between him and Howard.

The Los Angeles Lakers are committing to Andrew Bynum, at least for now.

After months of speculation and trade rumors, Bynum stayed put at this year’s trading deadline, and had his $16 million option for next season picked up Tuesday. It’s the fourth year of $58 million contract extension Los Angeles signed him to in October 2008, despite missing most of the season with a dislocated kneecap.

Los Angeles had until June 30 to pick up the option, otherwise Bynum would become a hot commodity this summer. He has played in 41 of the Laker’s 45 games this year, missing the first four not by injury surprisingly, but serving a suspension he was slapped with following the team’s Game 4 loss in Dallas a year ago.

But in his season debut against the Denver Nuggets, Bynum tallied 29 points and 13 rebounds, setting the stage for the year to come.

Bynum, who is just 24-years-old, but in his seventh NBA season, is enjoying a banner campaign. He is averaging career-highs in points (18.1) and rebounds (12.9).

Those numbers saw him be selected to his first All-Star team, starting for the Western Conference in Orlando. He’s posted 31 double-doubles this season, including ten straight and in 16 out of his last 17 games.

During that streak Bynum recorded his first career 20/20 game.

On Feb. 6, in the Laker’s 95-90 loss to the 76ers, and on the same night Kobe Bryant passed Shaquille O’Neal for fifth on the all-time scoring list in his hometown of Philadelphia, Bynum scored and grabbed 20 points and rebounds each.

Once urged by Bryant to be traded for Jason Kidd and six years of waiting, Bynum is developing into the player Los Angeles always thought he would be.

He was most recently named the Western Conference Player of the Week, averaging 27.5 points and 14.8 rebounds over a four-game span. And while Bynum is clearly the best center in his conference, he has a long way to go to be the best in the league.

That title belongs to the Magic’s Dwight Howard.

For the last eight years, Howard, who will stay in Orlando through the 2012-13 season after waiving his opt-out clause, has become the NBA’s next dominant center.

Throughout that time, he has averaged 18.4 points per game, along with 13 rebounds and two blocks. Not to mention his record three straight Defensive Player of the Year Awards.

This season has been no different.

Howard is totaling 21.1 PPG, 14.8 rebounds and 2.2 blocks on a Magic team that is currently the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference playoff picture. But it’s not just Howard’s on the court presence that sets the two apart, but his ability to stay on the floor.

Since being drafted with the No. 1 overall pick in 2004, Howard has played in 616 of the possible 623 regular season games. He has started 615 of those and missed as many as four games in a season.

On the other hand, Bynum was drafted just a year later with the No. 10 pick in the draft. In the 540 games the Lakers have played since that time, Bynum has only played in 376 of them, mainly due to various knee injuries.

They have gone head-to-head 16 games in their careers, including the postseason with Howard showing almost every time why he is the best at his position.

Against Bynum, Howard has averaged 18.8 PPG, 13.4 rebounds and 2.9 blocks. Compare that to Bynum’s eight points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.7 blocks.

However in those games, Howard has complied 18.6 more minutes and 4.3 shot attempts than Bynum, giving him the slight advantage. But Bynum has continued to work hard and improve, fairing better in their more recent matchups.

In Bynum’s last three games against Howard and the Magic, he has totaled 12.3 PPG, 13 rebounds and 2.3 -- a significant upgrade from his career totals versus Orlando. That could be attributed to the extra minutes (28) and shot attempts (10.3) he is receiving.

And despite what the numbers say, Bynum’s Lakers have won nine of the 16 games, including four in the 2009 NBA Finals.

If things stay they contractual are, Howard and Bynum will both become free agents following the 2012-13 season.

But I’d expect the Lakers to sign Bynum to a contract extension in the near future as they look to continue the tradition of the franchise's dominant big men with a spot open on their Mount Rushmore, joining Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Shaquille O’Neal.

There's no disputing who the best center in the game is, but maybe a swap isn't as likely as it once was in Los Angeles.