Will Bender's option be picked up?

[JCSunsfan]

A decision needs to happen really soon.

 

[AzStevenCal]

I think they'll pass and I believe it's the wrong decision. But just barely. The odds are still quite long that he will ever have value.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

The option isn’t a ton of $$$, right? And it’s only an additional year, right? And he’s still super young, right? If the light ever turns in I want it to be with us. He’s not taking minutes away from anyone else at present.

 

[Phrazbit]

Six million isn't a ton of money but this roster is so lacking in NBA caliber talent that I think we'd be better off cutting bait and trying to find someone who can actually contribute.

I just don't see the light coming on. When he is on the court he doesn't just look bad, he looks sad and often embarrassing. And if he can't find minutes with the roster the way it is right now I don't see where he finds them in the future.

But, I would love to be wrong.

 

[Finito]

Nope and they shouldn't. He just doesn't have the mind for it. Never seen a player play so scared

 

[1tinsoldier]

Bender had an abundant amount of time last season to show some value. But it couldn't hurt much to give him some playing time for the next 2 weeks to see how he does with the new players and coach around him.

Where there is the will there may be a way for someone like JJ to produce eventually and the investment has a better chance of paying off. Without the will, Bender just isn't a sound investment.

 

[95pro]

I'm a Bender hater. I literally laughed out loud in Vegas during the summer league games when he did something wrong.

Ok I voted YES, and the Suns are RIGHT to do it.

I've never like the guy, BUT here's why I voted:

He's young and from a foreign country. Also he's definitely not an established star from across the pond so it may take some time for him to develop. Bender is not a slow lumbering euro so that's the bright side of him.

What he is, is a project, a young project with size and some skills that others his size may lack. He can be that far end bench player that can provide some spot minutes in certain situations, like defensive substitutions for that last second shot at the end of the quarter.

We know big men (Ayton is the outlier that comes around every so often) from euro take a while, and almost none have panned out to be stars, but we shouldn't expect that from him. We need lower the bar a little on Bender, it doesn't where he was drafted at this point, a little investment MIGHT go a long way. There are more useless guys to waste money on out there with less skill.

 

[Hoop Head]

It would be a mistake to let him walk. It's not like we're a free agent destination. His salary isn't all that much and if we don't pick up his option, we might as well waive him now. I still think if the Suns come to regret picking up the option that they could find someone to take him off their hands. It's a small price for someone to pay to see if a change of scenery was all that's needed. It's not like they would be stuck with him long term, only 1 year, and if he pans out then he could be one hell of a player.

 

[Chaplin]

Just got the alert that we declined the option.

 

[Town Drunk]

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[Ronin]

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[Hoop Head]

Might as well cut him now. Anyone that paid attention last season to the Jahlil Okafor drama in Philly should know that no team will part with anything worthwhile in a trade for a player who has had their 4th year option declined. Okafor had shown a lot more than Bender also. We might as well waive him now.

The extra $6 million in cap space next summer would be nice if I had faith in our front office spending it wisely.

 

[Cheesebeef]

Might as well cut him now. Anyone that paid attention last season to the Jahlil Okafor drama in Philly should know that no team will part with anything worthwhile in a trade for a player who has had their 4th year option declined. Okafor had shown a lot more than Bender also. We might as well waive him now.

The extra $6 million in cap space next summer would be nice if I had faith in our front office spending it wisely.

this was the main reason not to extend him a year. but you're right... remains to be seen if this FO has any clue what to do with that cap space... and even if they do, if anyone worth a big contract will actually come to this dumpster fire.

sigh... can't believe how awful this season has started. I didn't expect us to be good. I expected the lack of PG to really hurt, but good gravy... they're still embarrassingly bad... even with a new piece added to the team who's averaging 18/10/4.

easily the most disappointing/aggravating this this season hasn't just been JJ's lack of development, but even worse, it seems like he's regressed to the very beginning of last season where he was a complete non-factor.

 

[Mainstreet]

The Suns only playing Bender at garbage time pretty much foreshadowed this move. It seemed like they had given up on him. He only played 11 minutes in the regular season.

 

[Mainstreet]

Another tweet.

I did get tired of seeing Bender standing in the corner waiting for a shot.

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[Mainstreet]

Here is the link to the story on ESPN:

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/25129748/phoenix-suns-decline-dragan-bender-option


That 2016 draft was a disaster.

 

[Mainstreet]

Slowly but surely the Suns are cleaning up the wasted space on their roster with moves concerning Len, Bender, Chriss, Ulis, Reed, Harrison and Knight. I'm probably missing some names.

Next season or at the trade deadline there will be more.

 

[JCSunsfan]

Here is the link to the story on ESPN:

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/25129748/phoenix-suns-decline-dragan-bender-option


That 2016 draft was a disaster.

What we did with those players was a disaster. I do think we could have developed Bender more effectively.

I agree with the others. Having the extra $6 million is nice, but Anderson, Ariza, Chandler, and Crawford give us no hope that our management or leadership will make good use of it.

I believe that Bender will end up an effective NBA player.

I also agree that they might as well cut him. He is a lame duck on our roster. He has no trade value. He is a repeat of Len from last year.

 

[JCSunsfan]

This is what most of us expected.

 

[elindholm]

Just got the alert that we declined the option.

Wow, I just finished voting, "No, but they should." I think it's pretty unlikely that he'll make it, and I always did, but it still seems too soon to give up on him entirely.

Didn't we hear that he threw a temper tantrum during practice about how "You need me"? Maybe his attitude is becoming toxic.

Still, I can't help but wonder if the Suns didn't wish they had Chriss back, now that they've decided that Bender is a lost cause.

 

[Cheesebeef]

Wow, I just finished voting, "No, but they should." I think it's pretty unlikely that he'll make it, and I always did, but it still seems too soon to give up on him entirely.

Didn't we hear that he threw a temper tantrum during practice about how "You need me"? Maybe his attitude is becoming toxic.

Still, I can't help but wonder if the Suns didn't wish they had Chriss back, now that they've decided that Bender is a lost cause.

wha? I thought that YOU NEED ME story was about Jimmy Butler. If Bender said it, he should be put on medical leave so they can check him into a psych ward.

 

[Mainstreet]

What we did with those players was a disaster. I do think we could have developed Bender more effectively.

I agree with the others. Having the extra $6 million is nice, but Anderson, Ariza, Chandler, and Crawford give us no hope that our management or leadership will make good use of it.

I believe that Bender will end up an effective NBA player.

I also agree that they might as well cut him. He is a lame duck on our roster. He has no trade value. He is a repeat of Len from last year.

It's a disappointment for sure. I'm hoping Kokoskov is behind some of these moves as he reworks the team.

IMO, the Suns are cleaning house.

Anderson, Ariza, Chandler and Crawford will likely be gone next season so I'm not going to be annoyed about their presence as long as they do not stand in the way of the younger players.

 

[JCSunsfan]

Wow, I just finished voting, "No, but they should." I think it's pretty unlikely that he'll make it, and I always did, but it still seems too soon to give up on him entirely.

Didn't we hear that he threw a temper tantrum during practice about how "You need me"? Maybe his attitude is becoming toxic.

Still, I can't help but wonder if the Suns didn't wish they had Chriss back, now that they've decided that Bender is a lost cause.

Never heard that practice story. Who knows what goes on behind closed doors. Igor is the one I trust most right now (and I am wavering a bit there). I hope he is behind this move. I doubt Chriss' option is going to be picked up either.

This is a no win situation. If the player doesn't perform, there is no point in keeping him. If he does perform, there is no way to keep him because all you can offer him is his option number next year.

 

[Mainstreet]

Here is a comment from Kokoskov.

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[Suns_fan69]

Curious to see if Chriss' option will get picked up. I haven't seen anything and a google search yielded no news.