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There was a time when you couldn't ever find a photo of Andrew Bynum on a practice court with that hulking icon of Lakers lore, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, right behind him. When the Lakers drafted Bynum in the lottery in 2005, they attached KAJ to his hip, to be a mentor and basketball sensai.Bynum has otherworldly talent, and a dominating physique. He has shown glimpses of pending stardom. But it never seemed like his spirit or head were fully on board with the Kareem Sessions, at least from the armchair vantage point. Bynum has always seemed preoccupied with proving he doesn't need help than with actually accepting it.
This is why it's not particularly surprising to see the Los Angeles Daily News's Ramona Shelburne report that Kareem and Bynum have effectively broken up.
Shelburne reports that Bynum did not see KAJ once this summer. (Instead, Bynum spent 41 days on a vacation in Europe and Asia, and six weeks in Atlanta working with his personal trainer.) Kareem will not be spending the season in L.A. to work with Bynum; instead, he'll spend more time at his home in New York.
Kareem definitely sounds upset in his quotes to Shelburne -- "Maybe he feels that there are things to be gained by doing it his way. So he's going to try it his way" -- but KAJ has to know he can't save Bynum from himself. If Bynum thinks he has learned everything he needs to from the leading scorer in NBA history, if he thinks he has no use for a personal mentor who has been there and done that ... well then, more power to him. He'll be responsible for his own failures or success anyway. He can live with it.
In a more macro way, it's sad that Kareem will apparently be away from the game this season. You wonder if he'd agree to take any other pivots under his wing, if requested. There are plenty of big men in the league who need help, and you have to think a few will be more gracious than Bynum.
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