Dragan Bender no longer a Draft and Stash candidate

[Evantime34]

Outside of Ingram/Simmons I don't see a prospect with more upside than Bender.

Jaylen Brown?

I like Bender more because I have more faith in him developing a quality jump shot, but Brown is definitely in the conversation.

Bender is already shooting 45% from three; that's practically all he does for Maccabi. Developing a jumpshot is not his issue -- developing everything else is.

Where are you seeing that stat?

I've only seen his EuroCup / EuroLeague / U18 / Maccabi (junior) stats, all of which ranged from "not that good" to "downright terrible" from outside.

EDIT: Nevermind, found it.

http://basket.co.il/PlayerPage.asp?PlayerNumber=03&TeamId=950&cYear=2016&cView=2&lang=en

Slowe setup before releasing the ball too.  Like jerebko. Might be slower

Do you have a youtube clip to back this up? The upside motor guy said his release was good and from the videos I've seen his release looks pretty quick.

Slow release, soft
http://youtu.be/vhREj9q-UpM

This indicates that him catching the ball standing straight up slows down his shot. That doesn't mean his release is slow, just that it is slower than it could be. More importantly this can be fixed extremely easily before he catches the ball.

In fact, if you watch his release in this video from this season (as opposed to the weakness video from before the season where they used last season's video), he does a good job of bending his knees before receiving the pass and thus speeding up his release.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJD9kPQNdJ4&nohtml5=False

I do agree that his release looks soft, but somehow I don't think that's what you meant.

He avoids physical contact

I could point to his skinny frame and the fact that he's playing against grown men as an 18 year old for that.

With a direct quote from Givony, I trust Bender's toughness.

[ederson]

Bender is already shooting 45% from three; that's practically all he does for Maccabi. Developing a jumpshot is not his issue -- developing everything else is.

Where are you seeing that stat?

I've only seen his EuroCup / EuroLeague / U18 / Maccabi (junior) stats, all of which ranged from "not that good" to "downright terrible" from outside.

EDIT: Nevermind, found it.

http://basket.co.il/PlayerPage.asp?PlayerNumber=03&TeamId=950&cYear=2016&cView=2&lang=en

still the sample isn`t large

48at in 21 games

[TheSundanceKid]

Outside of Ingram/Simmons I don't see a prospect with more upside than Bender.

Jaylen Brown?

I like Bender more because I have more faith in him developing a quality jump shot, but Brown is definitely in the conversation.

Bender is already shooting 45% from three; that's practically all he does for Maccabi. Developing a jumpshot is not his issue -- developing everything else is.

Where are you seeing that stat?

I've only seen his EuroCup / EuroLeague / U18 / Maccabi (junior) stats, all of which ranged from "not that good" to "downright terrible" from outside.

EDIT: Nevermind, found it.

http://basket.co.il/PlayerPage.asp?PlayerNumber=03&TeamId=950&cYear=2016&cView=2&lang=en

Slowe setup before releasing the ball too.  Like jerebko. Might be slower

Do you have a youtube clip to back this up? The upside motor guy said his release was good and from the videos I've seen his release looks pretty quick.

Slow release, soft
http://youtu.be/vhREj9q-UpM

This indicates that him catching the ball standing straight up slows down his shot. That doesn't mean his release is slow, just that it is slower than it could be. More importantly this can be fixed extremely easily before he catches the ball.

In fact, if you watch his release in this video from this season (as opposed to the weakness video from before the season where they used last season's video), he does a good job of bending his knees before receiving the pass and thus speeding up his release.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJD9kPQNdJ4&nohtml5=False

I do agree that his release looks soft, but somehow I don't think that's what you meant.

He avoids physical contact

Yet you've just been calling KO tough. What are you on? I understand everyone has favourites but this blind hate is a bit much

[Tr1boy]

Outside of Ingram/Simmons I don't see a prospect with more upside than Bender.

Jaylen Brown?

I like Bender more because I have more faith in him developing a quality jump shot, but Brown is definitely in the conversation.

Bender is already shooting 45% from three; that's practically all he does for Maccabi. Developing a jumpshot is not his issue -- developing everything else is.

Where are you seeing that stat?

I've only seen his EuroCup / EuroLeague / U18 / Maccabi (junior) stats, all of which ranged from "not that good" to "downright terrible" from outside.

EDIT: Nevermind, found it.

http://basket.co.il/PlayerPage.asp?PlayerNumber=03&TeamId=950&cYear=2016&cView=2&lang=en

Slowe setup before releasing the ball too.  Like jerebko. Might be slower

Do you have a youtube clip to back this up? The upside motor guy said his release was good and from the videos I've seen his release looks pretty quick.

Slow release, soft
http://youtu.be/vhREj9q-UpM

This indicates that him catching the ball standing straight up slows down his shot. That doesn't mean his release is slow, just that it is slower than it could be. More importantly this can be fixed extremely easily before he catches the ball.

In fact, if you watch his release in this video from this season (as opposed to the weakness video from before the season where they used last season's video), he does a good job of bending his knees before receiving the pass and thus speeding up his release.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJD9kPQNdJ4&nohtml5=False

I do agree that his release looks soft, but somehow I don't think that's what you meant.

He avoids physical contact

Yet you've just been calling KO tough. What are you on? I understand everyone has favourites but this blind hate is a bit much

Was KO drafted 5th?

[Tr1boy]

Bottom line is this is not a player that is a "fit" under CBS
And especially not with a valuable 3-5 pick. Who knows when we will have the chance to pick that high again

[nickagneta]

I don't see how people can be so definitive on a guy that has very little video of him, plays few minutes in a league where the talent might be slightly above the D League, and because a few draftnik web sites have written some stuff on him from having seen him only slightly more than what is available on the web.

I watched the vids and read up on him but I take DX, Chad Ford, and NBADraft.net with a serious grain of salt. They aren't the last word on draft prospects and often are exteemely wrong. He looks like he has years of physical development to go before he can even be competitive in the NBA, never mind successful. He shows some promise but also some major question marks.

Anyone coming up with definitives more than that based on available information is just fooling themselves.

[TheSundanceKid]

I don't see how people can be so definitive on a guy that has very little video of him, plays few minutes in a league where the talent might be slightly above the D League, and because a few draftnik web sites have written some stuff on him from having seen him only slightly more than what is available on the web.

I watched the vids and read up on him but I take DX, Chad Ford, and NBADraft.net with a serious grain of salt. They aren't the last word on draft prospects and often are exteemely wrong. He looks like he has years of physical development to go before he can even be competitive in the NBA, never mind successful. He shows some promise but also some major question marks.

Anyone coming up with definitives more than that based on available information is just fooling themselves.

It is certainly too early for definitive talk. There are holes with all the talents in the draft, some are more well known than others. The workouts will tell us a lot more about these prospects.

I would say though that the concerns over his body are interesting. Porzingis, who people are using against him, came in with a thin frame and seems to be doing ok. He's been quoted as saying he's focusing on the fundamentals over the physical side at the moment which is sensible. I'd expect him to come along quite quickly in the first few years with NBA conditioning.

[Smart457]

Bender is a 100 percent fit in Brad Stevens system. Brad prefers bigs who can handle the ball and shoot from the perimeter. Dragon will also be our best passing big as he passes extremely well from the high post.

Brad Stevens will love this guy.

In response to the worries about his shooting release. If you watch the video you will see he seldom is bothered while releasing his shots from distance. He typically gathers himself when there is no pressure and this might give the impression he has a slow release.

He's 18 guys. Phenomenal athlete for his size.

[Roy H.]

I don't see how people can be so definitive on a guy that has very little video of him, plays few minutes in a league where the talent might be slightly above the D League, and because a few draftnik web sites have written some stuff on him from having seen him only slightly more than what is available on the web.

I watched the vids and read up on him but I take DX, Chad Ford, and NBADraft.net with a serious grain of salt. They aren't the last word on draft prospects and often are exteemely wrong. He looks like he has years of physical development to go before he can even be competitive in the NBA, never mind successful. He shows some promise but also some major question marks.

Anyone coming up with definitives more than that based on available information is just fooling themselves.

Yeah, he's a complete unknown to me, but worse, he's unknown to almost everybody. The combine and measurables are nice, but you still have to see the guys playing games.

I'm not saying that he will be a bust. He might end up being the best player in the draft. But, I see bender as a bigger risk than almost anyone else at the top of the draft

[kozlodoev]

He's 18 guys. Phenomenal athlete for his size.

Too bad he's not getting drafted for a track meet.

[hwangjini_1]

He's 18 guys. Phenomenal athlete for his size.

Too bad he's not getting drafted for a track meet.

but he will probably be drafted and expected to run in the nba. what little evidence we have so far seems to suggest he will do well at least at this.

[footey]

Assuming we land outside the top 2, I rate Brown at 3 and Bender at 4.  At 5, 6 or 7, I would seriously consider trading down. Or packaging our Dallas pick to trade up to get Brown.  He looks like a prototype player in today's NBA.  Even more so than the Duke kid.

[LooseCannon]

I don't see how people can be so definitive on a guy that has very little video of him, plays few minutes in a league where the talent might be slightly above the D League, and because a few draftnik web sites have written some stuff on him from having seen him only slightly more than what is available on the web.

I watched the vids and read up on him but I take DX, Chad Ford, and NBADraft.net with a serious grain of salt. They aren't the last word on draft prospects and often are exteemely wrong. He looks like he has years of physical development to go before he can even be competitive in the NBA, never mind successful. He shows some promise but also some major question marks.

Anyone coming up with definitives more than that based on available information is just fooling themselves.

Yeah, he's a complete unknown to me, but worse, he's unknown to almost everybody. The combine and measurables are nice, but you still have to see the guys playing games.

I'm not saying that he will be a bust. He might end up being the best player in the draft. But, I see bender as a bigger risk than almost anyone else at the top of the draft

How would you compare the amount of available data on Bender vs the amount of available data on Giannis before he was drafted?

[Evantime34]

I don't see how people can be so definitive on a guy that has very little video of him, plays few minutes in a league where the talent might be slightly above the D League, and because a few draftnik web sites have written some stuff on him from having seen him only slightly more than what is available on the web.

I watched the vids and read up on him but I take DX, Chad Ford, and NBADraft.net with a serious grain of salt. They aren't the last word on draft prospects and often are exteemely wrong. He looks like he has years of physical development to go before he can even be competitive in the NBA, never mind successful. He shows some promise but also some major question marks.

Anyone coming up with definitives more than that based on available information is just fooling themselves.

Yeah, he's a complete unknown to me, but worse, he's unknown to almost everybody. The combine and measurables are nice, but you still have to see the guys playing games.

I'm not saying that he will be a bust. He might end up being the best player in the draft. But, I see bender as a bigger risk than almost anyone else at the top of the draft

If the C's pick him what will your reaction be? Will you be unhappy because of this risk, or will you assume that Ainge knows a lot more and thus the risk is diminished?

[Smart457]

He's 18 guys. Phenomenal athlete for his size.

Too bad he's not getting drafted for a track meet.

He runs the floor better then most guys his size and can handle the ball on the break.