Shortly after Andrew Bynum was traded by the Cleveland Cavaliers, a story came out alleging that the big fella showed his displeasure in a team practice by inexplicably launching halfcourt bombs. Bynum confirms it, and explains his, um … rationale? Per the Indy Star:

He sits on a padded chair after practice with his new team, both legs stretched out before him. Even this state of rest makes Andrew Bynum’s knees ache.

He describes the sensation as how he imagines arthritis feels. He feels older than he is and the gray coils, that he refuses to dye black, popping up in his afro are not helping him look like a 26-year-old NBA center who should be entering his prime years.

Though his many knee surgeries and procedures did not scare off the Indiana Pacers from signing Bynum in February – team president of basketball operations Larry Bird phoned Bynum’s agent the day the center became available – the damage is permanent. Not long ago, the thought of retirement crossed his mind.

He did not work well under coach Mike Brown’s detail-oriented structure. “It’s kinda like, if I send you to the grocery store and I give you three choices for peanut butter, you’ll probably pick one easily. But if I give you 25 choices, you might stand there for half an hour. Having it be too detailed may not always be the right thing,” Bynum says.

Also, Bynum raged against the shoot-first guards. During a practice, Bynum said that he launched a shot from midcourt, clearly out of the rhythm of the offensive play. Another day during a scrimmage, he did not like a call from assistant coach Phil Handy and mocked him as “a horrible referee.”

“Those are the two things I did,” Bynum says. “I did them on purpose because it was over there for me.”