Picking up the player option of Andrew Bynum might seem like the right move for the Los Angeles Lakers. It'd be an excellent prelude for L.A. to try and keep their star center. It seems like the Lakers are taking their time on that front. Dave McMenamin of ESPN Los Angeles has more.
A source close to Bynum said that the All-Star center and the team have "not yet engaged" in any discussions about a long-term contract extension, but that Bynum's camp "anticipated" those talks to occur sometime this offseason.
It might also be a possible start to the machinations that will end up taking Bynum out of Los Angeles. It's unlikely, but considering how difficult it might be to move Pau Gasol, Bynum is another possibility at the position. Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times has more.
Either way, Bynum remains one of the Lakers' two tradable assets.
They'd rather deal Pau Gasol, but his contract has two more years and $38 million left, heavy money for a player who averaged only 12.5 points in the playoffs and shot 43%.
You can see that the player option not only gives the Lakers options, but it does allow them to be more flexible when listening to deals. Having either Gasol or Bynum (or most radically, both!) involved in trade deals would give the Lakers a wide variety of packages they could consider for rebuilding the team to give Kobe Bryant his best possible shot at winning another championship.
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