Dragan Bender was the No. 4 overall pick in the 2016 draft. How’s his career going just three years later?
All you need to know: He agreed to sign with CSKA Moscow unless he found a suitable NBA deal at the last moment. It appeared he was washing out of the league quickly.
But the Bucks are throwing him a lifeline.
Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN:
Free agent F Dragan Bender has agreed to a two-year deal with the Milwaukee Bucks, league source tells ESPN. Bender, 21, was the No. 4 overall pick to Phoenix in the 2016 NBA Draft.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 25, 2019
Milwaukee is a championship contender this season. It’s important to stock the roster with players who can help with that all-important goal.
That’s probably not Bender.
But he looks like a decent second-draft bet. Bender is only 21. At 7-foot-1, he moves well for his size. He has flashed skill.
Bender just didn’t assert himself much in three years with the Suns. His outside shooting hasn’t come close to developing as hoped. Frankly, he’s a bad player right now.
Still, the talent he displayed entering the league provides some hope he’ll eventually figure it out.
