Dragan Bender

Dragan Bender... Still glad we drafted him?

  • Yes I'm happy and want to give him more time.

    Votes: 29 46.0%
  • No I'm not happy and I want him traded.

    Votes: 16 25.4%
  • Unsure right now. Can't make a decision.

    Votes: 18 28.6%

  • Total voters
    63

Hoop Head

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Bender was always an elite prospect ahead of his peers, so he moved up quickly. I remember, even as a highly touted prospect, he wasn't contributing much because he was playing at a high level and so they used him as a role player. Doncic is the exception in Europe.

My theory is that for the past several years (Euroleague, national team, Suns) Bender has always been treated and coached as a role player and so that's what he has come to identify himself as. I think it's a confidence issue, and it doesn't seem like ha has the innate personality to overcome it.

I bet if we brought in a new coach who featured him (not playing time; playing style) he would have a chance to flourish. The problem is, that requires a lot of dedication to struggling to reach an end result that is far from guaranteed. This would be the year to do it, and it doesn't seem like it's happening.

I can see that but unfortunately I don't see him being featured a lot offensively while with the Suns through the remainder of this season. Trying to get him to try something totally new for him could end in disaster while up on the main roster. His confidence could get hurt bad if they try to use him differently and he struggles really bad. They should send him down to the G-League for a week or two and ask him to run the offense, as a scorer and playmaker but primarily as a scorer. There isn't that much time left to send him down for long, hopefully Williams comes back soon so we can spare the time without him if he is assigned to the NAZ.

That's one of the upsides to having your own G-League team, you can send a player down to work on a specific aspect of their game in an environment where their skill should allow them to out play their opposition and do things easier than they could against actual NBA competition on the main roster. The Suns would need to make sure that he's used in a similar fashion when he comes back to the main roster so he has some consistency and confidence behind his actions. I know Assistant coaches follow players on assignment sometimes but I doubt the Suns are in a position to send one with Bender now. They've had an interim staff all year basically since they fired Watson and don't have a clear cut player development coach or lead assistant that could make sure Bender would be used down their like the Suns would use him once he returned. Sending him with directives should be good enough though. It would be better than playing him sparingly as just a role player on the main roster for 20 minutes a night.
 

Mainstreet

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After reading Triano's comments (above), the Suns have a plan on how to bring Bender up to speed on the NBA level. It started with him spreading the court and taking the 3 point shot. He is shooting a respectable .375 from that range.

Apparently the next step is to fake the 3 and work on driving the ball to the basket and scoring inside. As I suspected strength is an issue. Hopefully he continues to get stronger. It will probably take him until next season where he is strong enough to finish more often than not.

Bender has been playing defense so I'm happy with that.

Since Triano has a plan for Bender's development... I'm content with him staying with the big team. I'm not sure he would accomplish more with the G-League while he is under the watchful eye of Triano.
 

Cheesebeef

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After reading Triano's comments (above), the Suns have a plan on how to bring Bender up to speed on the NBA level. It started with him spreading the court and taking the 3 point shot. He is shooting a respectable .375 from that range.

Apparently the next step is to fake the 3 and work on driving the ball to the basket and scoring inside. As I suspected strength is an issue. Hopefully he continues to get stronger. It will probably take him until next season where he is strong enough to finish more often than not.

Bender has been playing defense so I'm happy with that.

Since Triano has a plan for Bender's development... I'm content with him staying with the big team. I'm not sure he would accomplish more with the G-League while he is under the watchful eye of Triano.

I like that there's a plan for him and sounds like the right one if he gets stronger and starts believing in himself a little more.
 

hcsilla

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Bender was always an elite prospect ahead of his peers, so he moved up quickly. I remember, even as a highly touted prospect, he wasn't contributing much because he was playing at a high level and so they used him as a role player. Doncic is the exception in Europe.

My theory is that for the past several years (Euroleague, national team, Suns) Bender has always been treated and coached as a role player and so that's what he has come to identify himself as.

That's at least part of his issue. He was also only a role player (and a quiet one) for the croatian national team.
 

JCSunsfan

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Right now, he is the invisible man on the court. He has to do better than dropping eggs in the stat line.

We need to draft a pf. I am all for giving guys time to develop but they need to show SOMETHING.
 

CardsSunsDbacks

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Right now, he is the invisible man on the court. He has to do better than dropping eggs in the stat line.

We need to draft a pf. I am all for giving guys time to develop but they need to show SOMETHING.
Why do we need to draft a pf? We certainly have bigger needs such as pg or center.
 

Mainstreet

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Why do we need to draft a pf? We certainly have bigger needs such as pg or center.

Agree the Suns need a PG and a center but the hole at PF is glaring.

Bender and Chriss are not getting the job done. Maybe the Suns can fill one of their needs via trade.
 

GatorAZ

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Slin was right about Bender and wrong about Chriss. I know it was meant to appease Booker but man, Ulis went two spots ahead of Brogdon.
 

JCSunsfan

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Slin was right about Bender and wrong about Chriss. I know it was meant to appease Booker but man, Ulis went two spots ahead of Brogdon.
We need to keep our eyes open for high producing upper classmen with those late picks. They can often produce immediately.
 

Mainstreet

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Like Davon Reed.

Perhaps the Suns should trade their second round picks. They would likely be more successful. :?:

In more recent history, only Dragic and Gortat come to mind as good second round picks.

And the Suns traded the rights to Gortat.
 

sunsfan88

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Slin was right about Bender and wrong about Chriss. I know it was meant to appease Booker but man, Ulis went two spots ahead of Brogdon.
Speaking of him, does Slin still post here?
 

Errntknght

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Slin was bannned six months ago, came back in disguise a month ago only to be banned within 48 hours.
 

Errntknght

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Perhaps the Suns should trade their second round picks. They would likely be more successful. :?:

In more recent history, only Dragic and Gortat come to mind as good second round picks.

And the Suns traded the rights to Gortat.

They sold the #36 pick outright - the one the Magic? used to sign Marcin.
 

SirStefan32

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I'll be excited when he has 5 good games out of 6 or 7. We know he can play. The question now is how consistent he can be.
 

WildBB

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He has a long way to go before he gets to Alvin Adams territory. Working on that .385 career FG% is a good place to start. Along with improving the rebounding and overall D.
 

SirStefan32

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He has a long way to go before he gets to Alvin Adams territory. Working on that .385 career FG% is a good place to start. Along with improving the rebounding and overall D.

I am fine with his defense. Bigger guys can push him around a bit, but that will solve itself as he gets stronger. Outside of that, his defense is fine. Rebounding and FG%... I am right there with you.
 

leclerc

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For me I think it's fga. He has to be consistently more active on offense. I think that aggressiveness carries over on fg% and rebs. Keep it going, Dragan!
 

CardsSunsDbacks

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For me I think it's fga. He has to be consistently more active on offense. I think that aggressiveness carries over on fg% and rebs. Keep it going, Dragan!
This. I think his FG% naturally increases by taking more shots inside the arc (specifically around the basket). What hurts his FG% the most is that most of his field goal attempts are 3 pointers where he makes about 38%.
 

JCSunsfan

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I loved that moment in the last highlight video where the big smile breaks out across Benders face after the made three. It looked like one of those moments where a teenage boy's body has grown enough to do something he had never done before. That smile that happens after you grab the rim for the first time, or dunk for the first time, or set a personal best on the bench press.
 

Ouchie-Z-Clown

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I loved that moment in the last highlight video where the big smile breaks out across Benders face after the made three. It looked like one of those moments where a teenage boy's body has grown enough to do something he had never done before. That smile that happens after you grab the rim for the first time, or dunk for the first time, or set a personal best on the bench press.
Yes you nailed it. I was drawn to that image too and you perfectly summed up the feeling it gave me. Might be a seminal moment in his development.
 

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