Had Andrew Bynum been healthy all of last year, we may have a different World Champion team.  There’s no doubt the Lakeshow missed his 2 blocks, almost 2 dimes, and more importantly, his 10 rebounds per and that huge inside presence.  But that’s spilled milk.  Most sites have Bynum ranked at about the 10th best center, and he’s the ninth taken in our draft.  Check out why after the jump…

Round 3, Pick 6 - Andrew Bynum

Bynum is mini-Shaq.  The healthy, young, more upside version.

Yes, healthy could be a stretch but let’s be real.  Last year’s injury was not one to label him “injury-prone,” but instead a result of contact and bad luck.  He played all 82 the season before, and we’ll throw out his rookie season, where he played less than 8 minutes per contest.

So far, he’s improved in every single category every single year.  You shouldn’t be expecting a whole lot of scoring from him, but it’s likely that this year he could average close to 15 per.  In that triangle offense, he had 1.7 dimes a game last year, and that could end up closer to 4 with a little more playing time.

But no, Bynum’s real value is in boards, blocks, and percentages, as with most centers.  But unlike most centers, he shot about 70% from the line last year.  That’s up three percent from last.  Oh yeah, sign me up baby.  I mean seriously, a walking double-double, a few assists per game, 2+ blocks, and 70% from the line?  Does it get any better?

Sure does.  If he were eligible for league leading stats, he would have been first in FG%.  And guess how many minutes he played?  That’s right, not even 29 per game.  Reports have him healthy and ready to go, and if that’s true, we could be seeing 34-36 minutes a game this year if Phil Jackson knows what’s best.

As for that Pau Gasol acquisition, a common misconception is that adding another inside presence will kill a big’s rebounding numbers.  Not true.  You can expect that to climb, as well as his assists.  Points may be the thing that suffers here, but that’s no biggie considering with 30+ minutes, he should easily meet last year’s average.

So without further ado, here are my projected stats for his 08-09 season:

Points: 14.2
Rebounds: 11.5
Blocks: 2.5
Assists: 3.4
FT%: 72%
FG%: 60%
MPG: 32