Forget About an Andrew Bynum Timetable

Monday’s practice came around and Andrew Bynum is still nowhere to be found. We’ll, he’s not missing per say. Mike Bresnahan of The Times knew where to find Bynum. The big fella was standing to the side, not participating in practice…again.

The time has come to officially forget about putting any type of a timeline on Bynum’s return.

He’ll be ready to play when he’s ready to play.

In fact, at this rate, it wouldn’t be shocking if we didn’t see Bynum on the court until January of the New Year.

Before jumping on the blame bandwagon of laying this one on Andrew’s World Cup tickets, keep in mind just how slowly this whole process has unfolded. Even if he did have the procedure done sooner there is no indication he’d be playing right now.

As it is, the Lake Show is out of the gate with an impressive 12-2 start. No need to rush Young Drew back with the way this team is playing. Let him take his time. This could be a blessing in disguise after all. With all the minutes Pau Gasol has been logging, he’s going to need a mid-season breather. It stands to reason that Gasol will certainly be an All-Star meaning he won’t have an All-Star break. So if Drew is ready to go come Christmas, great! If not, then come February, just as the legs on the Laker bigs begin to tire, we’ll hopefully have Bynum up to speed playing 20+ minutes a night.

Bynum’s health concerns are going to be a problem throughout his career. This seems obvious. If he’s going to be the post-Kobe building block then he needs to be handled with kid gloves. The last thing we want is a Greg Oden on our hands. No, Drew is not that fragile but he is a big man with leg injuries. Those are two strikes and the third could be a heater right down the heart of the plate if Bynum is rushed back too soon.

So for now, let’s just forget about putting any kind of a timeline on Bynum’s debut this season. Instead, let’s just hope he does play at some point and is healthy enough to log big minutes come June.