7 Former All-Stars the Cavaliers signed past their prime

No. 4 – Andrew Bynum, 2013

The only player on this list that wasn’t signed to a contending team, the Cleveland Cavaliers bought low on Andrew Bynum in 2013 as they were still a lottery team trying to build a new identity in the wake of LeBron James’ departure. With Kyrie Irving and Dion Waiters starting to show promise as scoring threats, the Cavs wanted to build out a frontcourt to support them.

Bynum was an All-Star center with the Los Angeles Lakers, starting on two title teams in 2009 and 2010 and establishing himself as a walking double-double. Then the injuries which had plagued him his entire career made their biggest move, and he missed the entire 2012-13 season.

That’s when the Cavaliers swooped in and signed him, hoping to have a starting center when he was fully healthy. The problem is that he never truly was healthy, and he was heavy and slow when he did make it onto the court. Bynum’s prime appeared to have ended with his latest injuries, and the player Cleveland got was a shell of his former self.

Bynum averaged 8.4 points and 5.3 rebounds per game, but he didn’t have lift to finish or mobility on defense. For the first time since his rookie season he was a negative on defense, and even a rebuilding Cavaliers team knew not to keep him around, sending him out a few months into the season; Bynum wouldn’t play again past that season.