Portland Trail Blazers: Who should fill out the roster?
By Ty Delbridge
4. Dragan Bender
Age: 21
Position: PF
Years pro: 3
Going into the 2016 NBA Draft, Dragan Bender was drawing comparisons to Kristaps Porzingas. At 7’1”, 225 pounds, not many guys at that size have the quickness like Bender or have the basketball skill set he posses.
He was the youngest player in the draft at 18 and went fourth overall to the Phoenix Suns. Bender can handle the ball, score from three levels, moves like a wing, he has excellent physical tools and should be a good defender.
Bender is a skilled player but is not elite in any one area, and that has been a problem for him. He has had a hard time developing his game and living up to his status as a top-five pick.
Bender is not a muscular guy, so he gets pushed around down low for rebounds, post scoring and defending. On offense, he tries to do too much with the ball and shoots a lot of 3-pointers. He has shown plenty of flashes but has never been able to be a consistent player for the Suns.
You think you rolled high but when you're playing Dungeons & Dragan... Bender will always get a higher dexterity check. #SunsVsJazz https://t.co/v9yaZVpHN7
— Phoenix Suns (@Suns) October 26, 2017
Neil Olshey has formed a habit of taking chances on players who were drafted high/hyped up and but have not lived up to their potential. Some examples: Nik Stauskas, Noah Vonleh, Skal Labissière and most recently Mario Hezonja.
The organization has a great player development staff and they have been successful in the past at bringing these type of guys in —Al-Farouq Aminu, Shabazz Napier, Maurice Harkless, Ed Davis, Jusuf Nurkic — and help to unlock them as players.
Bender is the type of project Olshey and the Blazers search for. He could come in and just work on his game and body behind the scenes, unlike in Phoenix where he had the pressure of living up to his selection.
Portland is in win-now mode and won’t ask Bender really to play unless it is garbage time. There won’t be any pressure for him to get good fast because Portland did not draft him, and this is a low risk for them.
The talent is there and he still is so young that Portland might try to hold on to him or a season or two to see what they can get out of him.