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In the aftermath of Dwight, with "Plan B" in full affect the morning after, Dallas has indentified the next big center on their checklist, Andrew Bynum:
Mavs' post-Dwight interest in Bynum is legit. They ARE pursuing him. Yet it's been made clear they'll make detailed/careful evaluation first
— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) July 6, 2013
This comes as no surprise to readers of MMB, as Bynum is a 25 year old All-Star center who, when healthy, can rival Dwight Howard as the best center in basketball. Of course, the key phrase there is "when healthy".
Bynum may be completely damaged goods by this point, but his level of talent simply can't be ignored. Given that the 76ers have acquired Nerlens Noel, and several other teams have already paid centers, it is possible that Bynum's market has shrunk considerably, perhaps to the point of a carefully planned, incentivized signing being a lower risk than we could have possibly predicted 8 months ago.
Word surfaced a few days ago that Bynum was refusing to work out for prospective teams. We will see if that has changed, but such a bizarre tactic would likely also not help Bynum's free agent stock.
Other teams mentioned in connection with Bynum include the Cleveland Cavaliers and Portland Trailblazers.