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David Pick @IAmDPick Oct 3The Magic, Celtics, & Rockets monitored Dragan Bender at JCC Manhattan. Orlando high on Croatians - Mario Hezonja.
Marc Stein@ESPNSteinLineDragan Bender, folks, is the realest of deals. Went head-to-head with a rugged scorer in Alessandro Gentile in crunch time AND won the duel
Chad Ford@chadfordinsider Dragan Bender didn’t just wow @ESPNSteinLine last week. Tons of NBA scouts & execs were impressed as well ...
Marc Stein, ESPN Senior WriterCHICAGO -- The 17-year-old phenom playing the first game of his life on a significant stage could not have looked more like he belonged with all the grown men on the hallowed United Center floor.The 46-year-old rookie announcer on press row masquerading as ESPN's blow-by-blow narrator for the Dragan Bender show didn't fare nearly as well.2. I got to watch Bender from very close range.And I can assure you that he's the realest of deals. The slender 7-footer doesn't turn 18 until November, but he can already do a little bit of everything. Bender runs the floor. He handles the ball. He scores inside and outside. He knows how to pass. He's not afraid to bang even though he clearly needs to add bulk and strength. And, most of all, he's already an impact player defensively who, despite his tender age and slight frame, can play the 3, 4 and 5.In both his Chicago appearance and Sunday's rematch with Milano at Madison Square Garden, after spending last season in Israel's second division with Maccabi's B team, Bender was a shot-blocking (and shot-changing) force at the rim. Even better: In the most high-profile game of his career to that point, Bender showed us his healthy appetite for playing small forward in United Center crunch time opposite one of Europe's better swingmen in Alessandro Gentile.There's a decent chance Gentile, whose NBA rights are held by Houston, will be in the league next season, because the Rockets hope to bring him over for the 2016-17 campaign. Yet in this instance, Bender's length and foot speed completely snuffed Gentile out of the game.Gentile backed off, unsure how to counter Bender's length. The kid has a L-O-N-G way to go, with his physical development as well as a long-range game he's still smoothing out, but we have to ask: How many 7-footers from Europe have sent a gaggle of NBA scouts home talking about his perimeter D?The true draft experts will tell you that the No. 1 overall pick in the 2016 draft already belongs to Ben Simmons or Skal Labissiere, but I'd stay tuned. Don't be surprised if the forecasts change over the next few months, judging by the manner in which Bender stepped onto the same slab of hardwood where His Airness once roamed, followed by the so-called Mecca of Basketball at MSG, and looked so ridiculously comfortable.Which left at least one of us in the audience wowed and envious.
Interesting. We certainly have a great chance at being in position to draft him with one of the Nets or Mavs picks. I hope it doesn't turn out like when Ainge was monitoring Giannis and then passed on him for Olynyk.
This is almost an identical description of Porzingis.
Jae Crowder had a hard time with Alessandro Gentile when we played Milan over in Spain. The fact that Dragan Bender was able to contain one of the best perimeter players in Europe is impressive.
Another pf? We have 5....lets find a starting center and a starting sf first... simmons brown and ingramm should be our nets pick
Interesting. We certainly have a great chance at being in position to draft him with one of the Nets or Mavs picks.
Quote from: hpantazo on October 10, 2015, 07:08:25 PMInteresting. We certainly have a great chance at being in position to draft him with one of the Nets or Mavs picks. Well, the Nets pick. If the Mavs pick is high enough to get Bender, they'll keep it.
Topic: Celtics "monitored" Dragan Bender (Read 5354 times)