If Andrew Bynum clears waivers, as expected, he will become an unrestricted free agent and can sign with any NBA team.
The 26-year-old center, who was waived by the Chicago Bulls on Tuesday after the team acquired him in a trade with the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday, is drawing interest from eight teams, per ESPN’s Chris Broussard.
[tweet https://twitter.com/Chris_Broussard/status/420939494159040512 align=”center”]
Bynum’s career has gone downhill over the past three years, largely because of injuries, but it’s rarely difficult for a player with his talent and size to find a new team given the league’s lack of top-tier centers.
The Miami Heat are a fantastic fit for Bynum for a couple of reasons. His size and strength as a 7-footer could fill a weakness in the team’s lineup, which lacks a physical presence at center. Miami is the worst rebounding team in the NBA with an average of 36.5 boards per game. Even though Bynum isn’t a dominant rebounder, he would be an upgrade over veteran center Joel Anthony, as well as forwards Chris Anderson and Rashard Lewis. Signing Bynum, a move that could be completed by offering him their midlevel exception, would also allow the Heat to move Chris Bosh from center to his natural power forward position.
Bynum is averaging 8.4 points and 5.3 rebounds per game this season, and if he could up that to about 10 points and seven rebounds each night, he would be a quality addition for a contending club.
