The Cleveland Cavaliers made moves this summer. They landed Jarrett Jack in free agency with a four-year $25.2 million deal and signed embattled center Andrew Bynum to a caveat-laden two-year deal with only $6 million guaranteed. The Cleveland Plain Journal‘s Mary Schmitt Boyer recently spoke with Bynum, who said his rehab is on schedule for his return. But can Cavs fans trust the prognosis?
What’s crazy to remember is that Bynum didn’t play a single second for the Sixers last season. After they participated in the three-team trade sending Orlando’s Dwight Howard to the Lakers, Philly’s only reward was Bynum’s fro, and not a low post presence Doug Collins wanted to team with then-point guard Jrue Holiday.
So what has Bynum been up to since signing the incentive-laden contract with Cleveland?
“I moved here a week after the press conference, I’ve been here ever since — day in and day out just working,” he said, referring to the team’s practice facility. “I’m there, focused. I’m doing everything I can do to get back. That’s what all this is all about for me right now. I just want to play.”
Cleveland GM Chris Grant even sounds positive about Bynum’s trajectory to return and his work ethic to get back on the court.
“We’ve been very impressed with Andrew’s work ethic and diligence in this process,” Grant said. “He’s doing everything possible to get back on the court as quickly as he can.”
But as Boyer points out, Grant didn’t put a date on Bynum’s return, and Bynum himself used the most ambiguous language possible about his return.
“It’s a fluid process. I have no idea what the schedule’s going to be for me. But I’m doing everything I can to be ready. I think with the program that has been made up, we have a good chance.
“I’m optimistic I’m where I should be. Obviously, I want to be playing. But I’m taking baby steps, doing what the team and the doctors tell me. I’m doing my part. I come to work every day. I’m moving in the right direction.”
Bynum’s also getting love from Cleveland fans as he explores his new city.
“Right now, there’s a lot of love,” he said. “They’re just excited that we definitely can do something this year, and I agree with them. We’ve got a good team.”
Did you notice how he said “right now,” like even he’s waiting for the other shoe to drop — probably on his surgically repaired knees.
If you’re a Cavs fan, and you’re super stoked for Jack, Kyrie Irving and Dion Waiters to annihilate opposing backcourts, that’s great. If you’re excited about Tristan Thompson switching his shooting hand, and immediately seeing dividends at the free throw line, fantastic.
But if you’re a Cavs fan expecting Bynum to reach his All-Star levels of 2012, please talk to any Sixers fan you know. They will set you straight.
The Philly fans played the waiting game last year — and some even held out hope that Bynum would play after the All-Star break — before he had surgery on both of his knees in March. That was it; no more ‘Andrew Bynum’s return is right around the corner’ talk. The Bynum experiment failed because the control, Bynum’s knees, failed to remain constant.
The 7-footer has been suffering from knee problems since he was 15. Those problems are not likely to subside as he ambles back-and-forth on a 94-foot long NBA hardwood that’s proven to be the most efficient way possible to destroy the various tendons and ligaments that make up the normal human knee. And remember that Bynum’s knee is not normal; it’s missing a lot of cartilage buffering the femur bone.
We’re not doctors here at Dime, but Mark Schwartz — the Co-Director of the Virtua Center for Sports Medicine — is, and he explained to CSNPhilly.com the degenerative condition in both of Bynum’s knees. Knees that support a 7-0, 300 lb. frame. Also, this:
I cannot believe Bynum still hasn't been cleared for full basketball activities.
— Hardwood Paroxysm (@HPbasketball) September 5, 2013
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Cavs fans should pretend that Anderson Varejao is their starting center, and Tyler Zeller is backing him up. Even Varejao isn’t likely to play a full season with his injury history, so fans should just plug in Zeller as their most commonly used center and take his presence on the block as the baseline for any expectations for this coming season.
We know the Cavs have playoff dreams this year, but with almost every team in the Central Division getting better this summer, they must remain realistic. Andrew Bynum as an everyday starting center is just not realistic anymore. That’s why Cleveland’s brass lined the majority of Bynum’s contract with incentives for production and games played.
Relying on any — or even some — of Andrew Bynum’s skills as the Cavs hunt for their first post-LeBorn James playoff appearance, is a perfect recipe for woe.
You’ve been warned.
How many games will Bynum play in a Cavs uniform this year?
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