Phoenix Suns: 3 candidates for a breakout season in 2018-19

1. Dragan Bender

Dragan Bender has the makings of a modern stretch-4 or 5, even if the league seems to be trending away from the Channing Frye “only a spot-up shooter” type of bigs. He shot 36.6 percent from deep last year, and unlike Frye, he has the quickness to hang with guards on the perimeter.

However, the 7’1″ big man hasn’t been able to put all of his tools together yet. He’s got all the measurables and tangible skills that a coach could want, but he still occasionally looks lost. He’s also a horrible rebounder for someone so tall.

This could be his year, though. Instead of having Alex Len down low eating up 20 minutes per game, the Phoenix Suns added Deandre Ayton — a significant upgrade. The same goes for replacing Jared Dudley with Trevor Ariza.

Before the year ends, it’s not infeasible that Bender could take the starting 4 spot. He needs to work harder on the glass, but if his defensive technique is corrected, he could be a real two-way threat, and hopefully having one coach for the whole year helps the matter.

Bender was compared to Kristaps Porzingis before he was drafted, and the similarities are still there. With some not-unreasonable improvement, Bender could become a mismatch with the size to shoot over wings and the speed to blow past bigs. If he becomes a switchable perimeter defender as well, the rest of the league better watch out.