Cavs now expected to look to trade Bynum just months after arrival.
The Cleveland Cavaliers have suspended center Andrew Bynum indefinitely due to “conduct detrimental to the team”, according to league sources.
As reported by ESPN, the Cavaliers will now begin aggressively looking to trade Bynum despite the fact that he only arrived at the franchise this past summer.
Cleveland have until January 7 to decide if they will guarantee his contract for the rest of the season, but despite the fact that he signed a two-year deal worth $24m with the franchise last summer, it is a team friendly deal which includes only $6m guaranteed.
The decision to suspend Bynum was made on Friday, and as a result he did not travel with the team to Boston to face the Celtics on Saturday night.
“It’s a terrible situation internally with our team,” All-Star guard Kyrie Irving said before the game. “It’s something we have to get over.”
Details have yet to emerge over why the decision was made, as coach Mike Brown did not disclose any information on the matter but did concede that he was worried about the impact it could have on his other players moving forward.
Bynum missed the entire season last year as he struggled with knee injuries, but has returned to the court this year and featured in 24 games whilst averaging 8.6 points and 5.3 rebounds.
His coach has insisted that he has shown what he is capable of achieving and dismissed speculation that perhaps the player has fallen out of love with the sport after revealing he struggles to play without pain in his knees.
Nevertheless, it remains to be seen whether a trade deal can now be worked out involving Bynum, but the initial reaction suggests that his time in Cleveland is up.
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