Andrew Bynum at Playboy Mansion

Goodness gracious this guy is brilliant. Last everyone heard, Andrew Bynum was weeks away from being ready to get back on the court with the Lake Show. But this past Saturday, Bynum was at the Playboy Mansion, picking playmates up onto his shoulders, jumping over velvet ropes - basically running through the Mansion as if it were an obstacle course.

Therein lies his genius: even though he was partying poolside while his teammates were prepping for the Hawks, no one can really get mad at him now that he’s officially ready to return. Is anyone in L.A. really going to waste time yelling at AB when they could be bringing him back into the fold?

Was it a good idea for Bynum to be photographed serving as a Bunny saddle while he's rehabbing an injured knee? Probably not. But on the Official Lakers Blog Danger Scale it barely moves the needle, in part because that girl looks like she weighs about a buck ten, max. I'm including the ears. It's not like Bynum scooped her up then set off to hike Kilimanjaro.

Still, there are things he could have put on his shoulders that would have been hazardous to his health, and by extension a championship for the Lakers. Heavy things. Poisonous things. Burdensome or irresponsible things. Mark Cuban. Jerome James. Jabba the Hut. Angry cobras. The collective poor decisions of Nicholas Cage, stateside and overseas. And so on. Your mission, therefore, is to create such images in the first ever Lakers Blog Photoshop Contest!

He picked up Playmate Nicole Narain and placed her on his shoulders and got somebody to take a picture with his digital camera.

Upper-body strength, check.

He hopped over a velvet rope near the DJ booth so he could take a picture with Narain and other Playmates who ended up sitting on his lap.

Jumping ability, check.

He sidestepped a few of the roaming cameras and got down with some Playmates on the checkered dance floor set up in the backyard.

Lateral movement, check.

Later, with lines around the bar getting longer, he pulled out a bottled beverage from one pocket and four plastic cups from another and offered up drinks to three Playmates who were with him.

Ability to adjust to game situations, check.

And maybe the best part of this whole thing is how eerily similar Bynum looks like Tracy Morgan in that photo. But if his physique has gotten anything like Morgan’s, maybe he isn’t quite ready to return.

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