With the news of the Philadelphia 76ers acquiring Andrew Bynum in the Dwight Howard deal, the reactions to the trade have made the 76ers come out as one of the winners in the four-team trade.
Sam Amick of SI.com thinks the 76ers did a great job getting one of the best big men in the game in Bynum and have a great chance to re-sign the center to a long term deal:
As for the Sixers, they shed Iguodala's $30.6 million for the next two seasons (including a player option in 2013-14) while getting a chance to secure a long-term relationship with one of the premier big men in the game in Bynum.
While Bynum has shown a strong interest in testing free agency next summer, the fact that Philadelphia would have his Bird Rights is a huge factor. The Sixers would be allowed to offer him a five-year deal with 7.5 percent annual raises as opposed to a maximum of four years and 4.5 percent annual raises for any other team.
Dei Lyman of CSNPhilly.com notes that Bynum has had his issues while with the Lakers, but it is worth the risk as Bynum will be the star 76ers fans have been wishing for since Allen Iverson left the team:
Bynum does come with a reputation of being difficult at times, but great talent often requires a franchise to work a little harder to keep the star happy. Allen Iverson had his moments, as did Charles Barkley, but their contributions to success far outweighed the drama they occasionally created.This city has been starving for the Sixers to land a star since the departure of Iverson, and acquiring that guy proved a difficult task that took time. Bynum can be that guy and with Howard out of the conference, the Sixers now have the best big man in the East.
Should the trade go through, it will be quite a coup for 76ers president Rod Thorn. When asked how the team can become a possible contender for a championship, three words usually weren’t too far from coming out of his mouth: "Dominant big man."Coach Doug Collins has commented on how nice it would be to have that hulking force in the post.
That force appears to be on the way.
Iggy isn't quite the superstar that some in Nuggets Nation have been clamoring over. With his addition and the subtraction of two main rotation guys, does the deal really make the Nuggets clearly a better team than the Los Angeles Clippers, Memphis Grizzlies, or Dallas Mavericks? Not so fast. Could the deal propel Denver above the Oklahoma City Thunder, San Antonio Spurs, or Los Angeles Lakers? I don't see it.
Worst case scenario, I see this deal keeping the Nuggets in the middle of the pack out West. At best, I could see this deal and the improvement of other players on the roster propelling Denver to either the second or third seed out West, if everything broke right.
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