Report: Cavaliers traded Andrew Bynum after inappropriate practice behavior
Andrew Bynum reportedly shot from "whatever remote part of the court he had caught the ball" during his final scrimmage (Mike Lawrie/Getty Images)
The Cavaliers traded Andrew Bynum midway through his first season with the team after he acted immaturely in practice, according to new details that emerged Tuesday in a report from Adrian Wojanrowski of Yahoo! Sports.
In Wojnarowski's larger examination of how "Cleveland lost its way, and lost a chance at LeBron's return," he offered some new details on Bynum's exit in a January trade to the Bulls, who released him shortly after the deal was completed.
The move to trade Bynum came for a variety of reasons, including his struggles with knee issues and a pending deadline to guarantee the rest of his salary. But the team had suspended the 26-year-old former All-Star in December for conduct detrimental to the team.
His behavior, as detailed by Wojnarowski, reportedly included engaging in rather ill-advised antics in his final scrimmage with the team.
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According to Wojnarowski:
Only Bynum never made it to the early January guarantee date for his full $12.5 million salary in 2013-14, and self-destructed. He stopped trying on the floor, and became a disruptive presence in practices. Before Bynum was thrown out of his final practice and suspended, he was shooting the ball every time he touched it in a practice scrimmage, sources said – from whatever remote part of the court he had caught the ball.
The two-time NBA champion and 2012 All-Star is currently with the Indiana Pacers as a backup to All-Star center Roy Hibbert but has yet to see minutes off the bench. He had season-ending arthroscopic surgery on both knees last March while still a member of the Philadelphia 76ers, a team for which he would never appear in a single game.
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