Doug Collins ain’t buying it. Maybe you are. I didn’t buy it from day one, and no, I don’t have any audio I can link to when I was on 975 The Fanatic. I do however remember insisting from the jump that a trade for Andrew Bynum would not be a good look for either party involved, be it the Sixers fans or the troubled center himself. Make a trade? Sure, I’m in, as long as it’s for Pao Gasol not the other guy. I still stand by that trade; as I see Bynum’s off the court adventures much higher on the radar than a struggling ball club. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve partaken on my own show many a nights with the Andrew Bynum Watch. Including of course, updating everyone (on the radio) about the recent spottings of Bynum and his hair. But the sad reality for Sixers fans is Bynum will never play a game for the team, nor should he.

With the entire planet focused on where Dwight Howard is going to sign this offseason, the Bynum saga has flown mostly under the radar, at least for now. But the two situations have a lot in common, specifically the leverage a sign and trade may have on each team via their star center. Both Howard and Bynum can easily sit back and say to their respective teams, “Hey, I’m outta here, so now’s your shot to work a deal out with (insert team name) to get something back”. Or they could just be ruthless and walk, literally to a brand new deal, however leaving significant ca$h on the table. But unlike LA, the appeal to remain in a city that has been less than warm, and a coach who isn’t known for patience with youth, can be big factors in going to a bigger market with more exposure. Bynum has won, twice, so the need to do it again must be driving him along side the need to be the focus on that title winner. Establishing a legacy of his own, with money on his mind, may be the exact thing that drives Bynum out of Philly.

I sit. Get healthy and rest up. There’s a big offseason ahead of me, one that I clearly want to entertain, as I have yet to make any definitive statements about remaining in my current city. Funny, as I write this in Bynum-mode it could easily be seen as Dwight-mode as well. Again, the stories seem interchangeable at times. Here’s what’s unique to Bynum, his current health. Why risk anything that may hurt your value in the offseason? This isn’t two or three years away, it’s a couple of months! Bynum doesn’t have much time to get his resume up, like his fellow Philly-Athlete Mike Vick did in the final game of the regular season for the Eagles. No, in fact, Bynum has plenty of time to rehab to completion, and make sure that heading into the bidding war, he’s in prime position to cash in.

So the blueprint is set for Bynum, practice when you can and keep using that anti-gravity machine to get yourself right. Then, when the time comes, make sure you get that new deal before returning to the court. In a world filled with bloated guaranteed money, there’s an NFL-like situation where Bynum rushing a return could cost him some money, some serious change. That’s something as real as that Moe cut he was rocking earlier this year. This is on the level of that Webber trade, but worse. The team in Philly got sold a bill of goods, but only this year, and that’s what makes the situation so bad for the fans. The team put themselves in such a high-risk spot by acquiring a big name in a trade who only had one year left on his deal, and didn’t seem intent on signing anything long term. Oh, and add the fact that there are some serious injury concerns, enough to keep him out an entire year, and you have a pretty simple explanation of why he never suits up for the Sixers this year. Unfortunately in Philly, that’s the only shot they will have seeing him both in uniform…and in uniform.

(Photo c/o @noamschiller)