The annual "when will Andrew Bynum be back?" saga is unfolding as predictably as a Brett Favre retirement.
As usual, Bynum is rehabbing from knee surgery — this time from a procedure to repair a torn meniscus in late July — and as usual, he's going to be missing time.
Phil Jackson speculated on Friday that Bynum, who is miraculously still only 22 years old, would miss the first three or four games of the season, but the big man clarified the situation on Saturday.
"I don't really see [being ready for the season opener]," Bynum told ESPN.com. "I see more towards the end of
November."
This comes as an unexpected blow to the Lakers, who had expected Bynum to be ready for the season.
"Obviously we hadn't prepared and Andrew certainly hadn't prepared for
the fact that it could take an extra month and a half or so to rehab
this type of surgery," Jackson remarked.
This is Bynum's third significant knee injury, having suffered a dislocated knee cap in 2007-08, a torn MCL in 2008-09, and the meniscus injury this past season — though he played through it during the Lakers' title run.
