Kyler: ...You are massively overvaluing Bender and undervaluing Okafor.… had a lengthy conversation with some folks around [Bender] recently - not good things being said about Bender. …There is so much we do not know about Bender because he does not play much... hard to invest in that scenario. ...Bender could end up being a lot more Darko than people are willing to admit.,,, If you think you have Bender figured out after 208 possessions this year... good for you. Just asking - if Bender is such a game changing star in the waiting, why doesn't he play? Porzinigis over 20 per game... Mario Hezonja around 16 per. Much larger sample size on both. … No. There is a lot of talent there, but talent is one part of the equation.
https://twitter.com/stevekylerNBA
Wow. I'm sorry, but there is just so much evidence that Kyler has done no research here that this is pretty much worthless.
Bender has been on the floor for WAY more than 208 possessions this season for Maccabi. He's been on the floor for just under 500 minutes (including both IBSL & Euroleague games). The typical ratio is a little more than two possessions per minute, which means he's been on the floor close to 1000 possessions.
His comparisons to Porzingis and Hezonja are also reflective of a complete absence of research and understanding of the different contexts for each of these players.
I get that sports writers and 'analysts' and of course most fans here look at Bender and see a giant void of information.
But the Celtics have had their international scout, Benas Matkevicius, following him closely and Austin Ainge has made several trips out to see him. They already know a ton more about him than folks like Kyler. And they'll have him in for a workout at Waltham.
That doesn't mean they will pick him at #3. But they aren't going to rank him based on the same level of ignorance exhibited here.
Frankly, this stuff from Kyler all sounds like more smoke from Danny. Combining this with the stuff from Ford and Givony's recent draft board rearrangements and it all looks like Danny is putting out a mess of different signals.