Andrew Bynum Now Has Bone Bruise in Both Knees

By Tony Ramsey
Howard Smith-US PRESSWIRE

Just a week after the Philadelphia 76ers announced that center Andrew Bynum would miss at least another five weeks due to his ailing knee, Bynum today says that he has a bone bruise on BOTH his knees, meaning he could be sidelined even longer than originally anticipated:

Bynum has struggled with knee injuries throughout his career but appeared to be improving after appearing in 60 of a possible 63 games last season with the Los Angeles Lakers (he was suspended for the first three games of the season). Bynum responded with his best season to date, averaging 18.7 ppg and 11.8 rpg and being named to the West’s All-Star team.

That production and the potential for Bynum to be a franchise center prompted the Sixers to trade away Andre Iguodala and a couple of prospects for the 27-year old seven-footer, but it’s beginning to appear as if the Sixers got the raw end of the deal. The Sixers are struggling along with a 4-4 record without Bynum’s presence in the middle of their lineup, and could be without Bynum for the majority of the season if this new setback proves to be serious.

It’s unfortunate that the Sixers have to endure the Andrew Bynum injury circus, but they well knew the risk that was involved with taking on the young big man. What makes the trade even more costly is that Bynum will be a free agent after the season, and if he manages to play in a handful of games and look anything like his former self he will be seeking a max contract, and some desperate team most likely would offer it to him – ala Eric Gordon for the New Orleans Hornets last season. The deep-pocketed Houston Rockets and Dallas Mavericks immediately come to mind.

Brace yourselves, Sixers fans. The worst of the Andrew Bynum experiment may be yet to come. And we’re not talking about his hair.

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