Phoenix Suns: 3 goals for Dragan Bender in 2018-19
1. Prove to be a part of the long-term core
This ties in with goal No. 3, but the people of Dragan Bender Island are dying off, one by one. Some have even got their life rafts packed and ready to go in the event of a full-scale evacuation.
There’s a lot riding on the next few weeks, and the 2018-19 season in general. Even if Bender gets his team option picked up, the pressure will be on to prove he can help this team on both ends of the court moving forward. Otherwise, he’ll continue to be worthless trade bait, and we’ll just be revisiting this situation with his team option one year from now.
"“Just the consistency with Dragan and the aggression,” McDonough said. “Those are the two things for me. We’d like to see him get to the free throw line more. We’d like to see him, now that he’s added strength and he had a good summer of work as well in the weight room, set good screens, box people out, get on the floor for loose balls and be physical.”"
Ryan Anderson will be starting at power forward to provide Kokoskov’s offense with floor-spacing. Hopefully the glaring need at point guard will be solved soon, but even with all the small-ball lineups Phoenix can deploy, there’s a need for help in the frontcourt.
At age 36, Tyson Chandler already looks a step slow, especially when opponents put their stretch-bigs out there. Deandre Ayton looks like a beast so far, but he’s a rookie and he can’t play all 48 minutes anyway. Richaun Holmes is intriguing, but flawed. Aside from Anderson, there’s no true power forward on the roster.
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Whether as a traditional 4 or a small-ball 5 for limited spurts, Bender can fill a need in the rotation. This would require him to toughen up, pull down rebounds, crash the glass, spread the floor and be aggressive attacking defenses off the bounce.
Most of the time, he’s invisible on offense, with his drives going nowhere, ending in a pass out to another player that either fails to move the defense in any meaningful way or ends up in the hands of the opposition. He doesn’t force the issue, doesn’t draw fouls and he’s noticeably struggled with his 3-point shot over the last few months.
Some of that has to do with how much time he spent in the weight room trying to bulk up, but he’s got to figure his new body out and fast — especially in the defensive end, where he was supposed to provide the most value but has quickly become a target.
"“We believe that he is a very good shooter who can make shots and put it on the floor and make plays for other people, but the biggest challenge for him is defense,” Kokoskov said. “The defense has got to be better as a defensive player. If he’s guarding 4s, we know it’s a small league, so he’s got to contain the ball. If he’s a 5, he’s gotta rebound and fight with those guys and bring more physicality. We’re going to support him as we always did, and he has to play.”"
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The Suns haven’t completely given up, and there’s still a resistance contingent on Dragan Bender Island. But in order for both to be proven right, this 20-year-old has to make significant strides in his third season, not just in October, but throughout the 2018-19 campaign, in pretty much every area of his game.