Bynum: 2nd choice making 1st-rate impression

When the Pistons were putting together their Summer League roster in the days leading up to and just after the June NBA draft, finding a No. 3 point guard was a priority. They wanted somebody young. They wanted somebody cut from a different cloth than Chauncey Billups and Rodney Stuckey, two big, physical point guards. They wanted somebody, in essence, who would approximate a young Lindsey Hunter.

They identified that player and were all but certain he would be joining them in Las Vegas - where, if all went well, they would sign him to a modest NBA contract, bring him to training camp and let him open the season on the 15-man roster.

But at the 11th hour, the Washington Wizards swooped in and gave Dee Brown that modest NBA contract without having to prove himself in Las Vegas.

It took the Pistons about a nanosecond to move on to Plan B - the B stands for Bynum, Will Bynum.

Fast forward four months. Both incumbent point guards are no longer available to those teams - Chauncey Billups was traded for Allen Iverson two games into the regular season and Washington's Gilbert Arenas had a third surgical procedure on his injured knee that will keep him out another month or so.

So both Dee Brown and Will Bynum have had opportunities presented to them. And, so far, Bynum is seizing his chance with a far warmer embrace.

They've both played in four games. Bynum has played 67 minutes, Brown 35. Bynum is averaging 8.5 points, 2.5 assists and shooting .583. Brown is averaging 0.5 points, 2.0 assists and shooting .200 - one basket in five tries for the 1-5 Wizards, who rank as one of the NBA's biggest disappointments so far.

What the Pistons wanted most out of their No. 3 point guard was someone capable of coming in for brief spurts to harass the opposition's point guard with in-your-face defense - think Hunter at his frenetic best.

Bynum has done that, too. The offense has been a pleasant surprise, even though Bynum rose to playground legend status in his native Chicago for his scoring exploits and was recruited to Arizona - he would eventually transfer to Georgia Tech - for his offense more than his defense.

Michael Curry took to Bynum immediately in Las Vegas, though Curry already was familiar with him. When Curry's career was winding down in Toronto, Raptors star Chris Bosh told him about his former Georgia Tech teammate. When Curry was working in NBA Operations three years ago with duties in the Development League, he was impressed with Bynum's positive attitude and tenacity. He was aware that Bynum had spent the last two seasons playing overseas and grooming himself to become an NBA role player.

The day Summer League ended in Las Vegas, Curry let Bynum know he wanted him on the Pistons.

Pistons personnel director George David said when he looked at the roster of other NBA teams, he felt fully confident that Bynum matched up well with other No. 3 point guards.

So far, he's matching up well with other No. 1 and No. 2 point guards, as well. So well that in a game Curry wanted to win badly enough that he played Allen Iverson for 46 minutes and Tayshaun Prince for 43 - Tuesday's game at Sacramento - he had Bynum out there for the first 8:28 of the fourth quarter, during which time the Pistons went from two down to six up and Bynum got to the rim three times, scoring twice, while spearheading an attacking defense that held the Kings to 15 points.

The thing that struck me most about Bynum when I talked to him in Vegas was his overwhelming and sincere gratitude to Joe Dumars and Curry for giving him the chance to return to the NBA, where he had a cup of coffee with Golden State three years ago as an undrafted rookie.

He was still in Israel, just finishing up his season, when he got the phone call a few days after the draft. He came home to Chicago and started working out three times a day in the week leading up to gathering in Vegas for his NBA audition.

Beyond the gratitude, it was clear Bynum knew exactly why he was there, too. Somewhere in Will Bynum is a guy who still believes he could score 30 points a game - scorers are scorers are scorers - but he understood he was in Vegas to hound the ball and set up the offense. And he focused on that. In fact, Curry had to remind him that they also coveted his ability to break down defenses and get inside the paint. Be aggressive, Curry told him.

When Bynum got his second big break last week after the trade, when for two games neither Billups nor Iverson was available, he began opening eyes with his devastating crossover and slick manipulation of pick-and-roll defenses, getting effortlessly to the rim in wins over Charlotte and Toronto.

And when Rodney Stuckey was struck with lightheadedness near halftime of Sunday's loss to Boston and stayed back in Detroit during the road trip-opening win at Sacramento - Bynum's third big break - he again seized the moment.

Curry joked before the Boston game that even if a play didn't call for a high pick and roll - Bynum's specialty - he'd find a way to get the Pistons into that set, pounding the ball up high until one of his big men got the message and came out to set the pick.

In his stocky build, his explosive change-of-direction ability off the dribble and in his knack for finishing in traffic against bigger bodies, Bynum calls to mind one of the most effective NBA little guys of the past generation. Fittingly enough, he'll play tonight - Stuckey needs another day or two to get his legs under him before returning to action - on the home court where Tim Hardaway had his best NBA moments.

Were the Pistons a little lucky that Washington offered Dee Brown that guaranteed contract before Summer League? Maybe. But somebody once said luck is the residue of design and opportunity. The Pistons had done their homework on Will Bynum, too, and he's grabbed opportunity by the throat.

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