Oh boy, another big man takes a shot at the Los Angeles Lakers. First, Dwight Howard expressed his displeasure with the Lakers and the overall fanbase and now Andrew Bynum is taking a dig at the Laker faithful. Sitting down with Fox Sports after being introduced as the newest member of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Bynum took a nice subtle shot at his former team and their fans while describing his new fanbase.
"I just know that they're really, really passionate," Bynum said of Cleveland. "And I haven't had the opportunity to play for a city that is really just gonna stand up and really support the team, I'm super excited and I can't wait to see what it's like."
Zing! When an NBA player says "really" more than once in a sentence, he really means it. Cleveland has already made a strong impression on Bynum and the city certainly should considering his contract contains a nice chunk of guaranteed money in it. Now, this could just be an attempt to charm his way into the Cavaliers' hearts considering he did just sit out an entire year and his health is still very uncertain at best.
Bynum should have nothing but good memories from his time in Los Angeles. He helped the team win two NBA titles. He played for one of the most, if not the most, storied franchise in all of basketball. The fans invested in him during his seven year stint. However, he did once claim Kobe Bryant stunted his development.
"I thought it really helped me a lot obviously at first, because he draws so much attention it's hard for guys to double team and key on you, so it helped me tremendously. Later, I felt I was able to get the ball more and do more things with the ball, so I could definitely see how it could stunt my growth," Bynum said to a group of Los Angeles reporters.
His statements came off the heels of his trade to the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for Howard. Maybe Bynum's fan comments were more geared towards 76ers' fans? They certainly were not too fond of the big man since he sat out the entire year. Bynum's words should definitely put him in the good graces of Cleveland fans at least.