EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- Both the Lakers and the Clippers are trying to find their place among the contending teams in the NBA. But if All-Star votes mean anything, the Staples Center cross-hallway rivals might be meeting in the Western Conference finals.
Kobe Bryant made his 14th All-Star team -- 13th as a starter -- while Andrew Bynum will be starting in his first appearance. Joining them as starters in Orlando on Feb. 26 will be Clippers Chris Paul (fifth time) and Blake Griffin (second appearance). Oklahoma City's Kevin Durant is the other starter, although he might feel like a bit of an outsider playing alongside all the LA guys.
Bynum, who missed watching last year's All-Star Game while making an appearance at a military base, was all smiles after Thursday's practice, the last one at home before heading out on a six-game road trip that begins Friday night in Denver.
“It feels great,” said the Lakers center, averaging 16.5 points and 12.1 rebounds. “I just want to keep expanding my game. (The selection) makes me more confident. I'm definitely feeling a lot more confident now that I've made it.”
Bynum has struggled with confidence issues and injury problems throughout his seven-year career, but he's put both aside so far this season and is probably the NBA's second-best center behind the Magic's Dwight Howard. Ironically, with the game being in Orlando and him lining up against Howard, Bynum is preparing to be bombarded with questions about a possible Laker-Magic trade involving him and Howard.
“Oh yeah,” he said laughing, “being down there and with him there too, I know I'm going to hear it a lot. (The media) is definitely going to be asking the question. All I can tell them is the better I play, the harder it makes it (for the Lakers) to trade me. I honestly believe that, so that's all I can say.
“If they want to trade me, there's nothing I can do about it. If it happens, then I guess I'll be (playing somewhere) else. But I don't want that at all.”
Bynum says he's thrilled to be playing alongside Kobe in the starting lineup. “He's the best player in the game, no doubt, and what he's accomplished is (amazing).
All-Star games, awards and NBA Finals appearance may be commonplace for Bryant, but for the 24-year-old New Jersey native, it's anything but routine. In fact, he said that he's so excited about the honor that it probably won't really hit him until All-Star Weekend.
“I'm not going to celebrate (right now) with us getting ready for some big road games. And knowing myself,” Bynum said, “it might not hit me till game time. Yeah, that late. I'm definitely going to enjoy it, though.”
Teammate Pau Gasol, who's a four-time member of the Western Conference team, wasn't voted in this year, despite scoring 16.3 points and grabbing 9.5 boards per game. Bynum thinks a couple of different sets of numbers will hurt Gasol's chances of going to Orlando.
“It would be tough for them to put three (Lakers) on the team,” Bynum said. "He deserves to be there and we wanted him there, but unfortunately our record (13-9) is kinda bad for us, and that (probably weighed in) on it.”
Gasol—not surprisingly—was nothing but gracious in talking about Bynum's rise to All-Star caliber center.
“It's always a great honor to be an All-Star,” Gasol said, “but the first time is always that much more special. I'm happy for him because I know that's something that he wanted; it's something any good player would want to be a part of. And to start; that's also very nice. So, yeah, I'm very happy for him.”
Coach Mike Brown feels that Bynum's ability to confront adversity lately and stay away from the injured list has made Bynum into the type of player who can be an All-Star every year.
“He's definitely ...deserving of it,” Brown said after being informed about Bynum's selection. “He's worked real hard to get to this point. He's only going to get better, and if he continues to stay hungry—and I believe he will—he can become a big-time, dominant force in this game.
“I think the sky's the limit for that guy.”
The only question remaining, though, is whether his flight to the basketball stratosphere is as a Laker — or an Orlando Magic.
