The Cleveland Cavaliers are reportedly exploring the possibility of bringing former All-Star center Andrew Bynum to take the spot of Anderson Varejao, was officially ruled out of the season because of an Achilles Tear.
According to New York Sports Newspaper DYST, the Cavs are intrigued of a possible reunion with the 27-year old Bynum, who is currently recovering from chronic knee problems.
The Cavaliers made a gamble on Bynum by signing him to a two-year, $24.79 million incentive-laden contract in the summer of 2013. After averaging 8.4 points and 5.3 rebounds in 20 minutes of playing time, Bynum started to become a poison inside the Cavs locker room, prompting the team's front-office to pull out a trade with the Chicago Bulls for Luol Deng in January.
The Cavs ended up as the losers in the deal after losing Deng to free-agency, while the Bulls acquired a first-round pick, two second-rounders and a pick swap in 2015 and saved more than $20M by waving Bynum.
The Indiana Pacers attempted to revive Bynum's career by giving him another shot. However, their experiment never materialized as the big man only appeared in two games, averaging 11.5 points and 7.7 rebounds per contest.
In spite his status as an injury-prone player, Bynum still received significant interest last summer. The Los Angeles Clippers reportedly invited Bynum to have a private workout, while the New York Knicks were also mentioned as potential landing place for the former All-Star because of his connection with former Lakers head coach and current president of basketball operations Phil Jackson.
Bynum's agent David Lee confirmed that Jackson indeed expressed interest in his client, although the Zen Master wanted to make sure his knees are healthy to play major minutes for the talent-deprived franchise.
"If he's healthy, Phil will be interested,'' Lee told The New York Post. "Phil knew how to tap into Andrew. They got along famously. He would be looking at in a longer-term situation. He's still a baby. If he went to college, he'd be coming off his rookie contract at age 26.''
Bynum, who is currently undergoing "The Regenokine Program" to fix his cranky knees, is quite a surprising candidate to replace Varejao, but several analysts think it would be a low-risk, high-reward gamble for the Cavs if Bynum was able to recapture his old self as one of the most offensively-gifted big man in the league prior to injuries.
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