It's Been Ten Years Since the Andrew Bynum Introductory Press Conference
Let’s take a stroll down memory lane:
10 years ago today, the #Sixers had Press Conference at the National Constitution Center for Andrew Bynum & Jason Richardson
I was at the Press Conference & In the end, Andrew Bynum never played a game for the Sixers#NBATwitter #PhilaUnite #NBA pic.twitter.com/wbiH10Yt30
— David Malandra Jr (@DaveMReports) August 15, 2022
What a day that was. Hordes of Sixers fans on hand after the BLOCKBUSTER move for Andrew Bynum, not realizing that this would actually precede a blow up and rebuild of epic proportions.
Full trade details:
- Lakers receive: Dwight Howard
- Nuggets receive: Andre Iguodala
- Sixers receive: Andrew Bynum, Jason Richardson
- Magic receive: Al Harrington, Arron Afflalo, Maurice Harkless, Nik Vucevic, three first round picks
I remember at the time everybody thought LA won the trade, mostly because they hung on to Pau Gasol. However, they went on to have losing seasons in six of the next seven years. Orlando stunk after the trade while Denver actually won 57 games in 2012/2013 with Iguodala, Ty Lawson, Danilo Gallinari, Wilson Chandler, Kenneth “The Manimal” Faried, and Coach of the Year George Karl. They ran into the Warriors in the playoffs and Iggy went on to sign with Golden State as a free agent. Then it went downhill from there.
Ironically, all four teams involved in this trade were mostly shit for the next five seasons.
But yeah, Bynum never played a single game here. Bad knees. Degenerating knees. He suffered a setback while bowling. The Sixers went on to get 52 games from Richardson over three years, who also had a knee injury, so go figure. Doug Collins later resigned, Tony DiLeo made way, and you know how the rest goes.