NBA Rumors: Roy Hibbert’s confidence was rattled by Andrew Bynum

The Indiana Pacers experiment with Andrew Bynum came to a unimpressive end on Wednesday when the team announced he would no longer be a part of the team this postseason. The reason for shutting down Bynum is officially because of his knees but unofficially it may be more about Roy Hibbert than anything else.

According to Steve Aschburner of NBA.com, Hibbert was rattled by the existence of Bynum on the Pacers roster and wasn’t too happy that Frank Vogel was going out of his way to call offensive plays that got Bynum involved in the game — plays Vogel didn’t call for Hibbert.

"But it might have cost the Pacers more than money. Center Roy Hibbert‘s ongoing tailspin coincides with Bynum’s arrival, so much that some team insiders have wondered if the move rattled Hibbert’s confidence and trust .. a source told NBA.com, when coach Frank Vogel ran plays to get Bynum involved offensively that he rarely calls for Hibbert"

Let’s not go scapegoating Bynum for all of the Pacers problems, as Hibbert can’t allow himself to be rattled by another guy on the team who does his job a lot worse than he does. No one was saying Bynum was there to replace Hibbert but for whatever reason he was bothered by him being there and it likely factored into his meltdown we just saw.

In the end, Bynum was supposed to help the Pacers in the postseason but his existence may have cost them everything, including the trust of their expensive center.