UPDATE - Bender Scouting Report & Video

[DefenseWinsChamps]

My biggest concern with Bender is that he lacks the pure explosiveness to be a 25ppg scorer in the NBA.

I think his ultimate best case is some kind of poor man's Nowitzki on offense that can control a game defensively with his length...ala Draymond Green.

There's still plenty of bustability there but i wont be upset if we take him at #3.

How explosive is Pau Gasol?  Would you take Gasol with the third pick?  I would; by a mile. 

Explosiveness is great but there is more than one way to skin a cat.  Bender has length, speed, and other skills to make up for not being explosive (i.e., jumping ability).  Besides, jumping ability is completely overrated.

Do yourself a favor and watch some footage of a 19-year old Pau Gasol in the ACB finals.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZZETQoe-0U

Yes. This is how explosive a young Gasol was. Against what some folks here like to describe as "grown men" in arguably the best league in Europe.

Okay, and I will compare that to Bender when he reaches the same age as Gasol was in that video.  I will see you in about a year and a half to compare.

Gasol was almost 20 in that video. Bender started this past season as a 17 year old.

And?

Do we seriously have to go over this AGAIN?

Come on. Be intellectually honest. a 17-18 year old is not as advanced athletically as a 19-20 year old.

Even freaks that peaked early like Lebron advanced athletically as they get into their early to mid 20s. But the most significant time of progression is typically between your Junior year of high school and your sophomore year of college, or from 17-20.

[kozlodoev]

My biggest concern with Bender is that he lacks the pure explosiveness to be a 25ppg scorer in the NBA.

I think his ultimate best case is some kind of poor man's Nowitzki on offense that can control a game defensively with his length...ala Draymond Green.

There's still plenty of bustability there but i wont be upset if we take him at #3.

How explosive is Pau Gasol?  Would you take Gasol with the third pick?  I would; by a mile. 

Explosiveness is great but there is more than one way to skin a cat.  Bender has length, speed, and other skills to make up for not being explosive (i.e., jumping ability).  Besides, jumping ability is completely overrated.

Do yourself a favor and watch some footage of a 19-year old Pau Gasol in the ACB finals.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZZETQoe-0U

Yes. This is how explosive a young Gasol was. Against what some folks here like to describe as "grown men" in arguably the best league in Europe.

Okay, and I will compare that to Bender when he reaches the same age as Gasol was in that video.  I will see you in about a year and a half to compare.

Gasol was almost 20 in that video. Bender started this past season as a 17 year old.

And?

Do we seriously have to go over this AGAIN?

Apparently, since people refuse to stop and think. Do you think Bender will become any more explosive over the next one and a half year? Has he really become more explosive over the last one year? Does Gasol look more physically mature to you than Bender in this video? Why do folks think that Gasol, who was picked as a 20-year old ACB finals MVP and a vastly superior player offer any justification for picking Bender?

Come on. Be intellectually honest. a 17-18 year old is not as advanced athletically as a 19-20 year.

I can't think about any 18-year olds who miraculously transformed themselves from average leapers into explosive athletic marvels. This is a red herring. It doesn't happen.

[DefenseWinsChamps]

My biggest concern with Bender is that he lacks the pure explosiveness to be a 25ppg scorer in the NBA.

I think his ultimate best case is some kind of poor man's Nowitzki on offense that can control a game defensively with his length...ala Draymond Green.

There's still plenty of bustability there but i wont be upset if we take him at #3.

How explosive is Pau Gasol?  Would you take Gasol with the third pick?  I would; by a mile. 

Explosiveness is great but there is more than one way to skin a cat.  Bender has length, speed, and other skills to make up for not being explosive (i.e., jumping ability).  Besides, jumping ability is completely overrated.

Do yourself a favor and watch some footage of a 19-year old Pau Gasol in the ACB finals.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZZETQoe-0U

Yes. This is how explosive a young Gasol was. Against what some folks here like to describe as "grown men" in arguably the best league in Europe.

Okay, and I will compare that to Bender when he reaches the same age as Gasol was in that video.  I will see you in about a year and a half to compare.

Gasol was almost 20 in that video. Bender started this past season as a 17 year old.

And?

Do we seriously have to go over this AGAIN?

Apparently, since people refuse to stop and think. Do you think Bender will become any more explosive over the next one and a half year? Has he really become more explosive over the last one year? Does Gasol look more physically mature to you than Bender in this video? Why do folks think that Gasol, who was picked as a 20-year old ACB finals MVP and a vastly superior player offer any justification for picking Bender?

Come on. Be intellectually honest. a 17-18 year old is not as advanced athletically as a 19-20 year.

I can't think about any 18-year olds who miraculously transformed themselves from average leapers into explosive athletic marvels. This is a red herring. It doesn't happen.

He is not going to turn into Blake Griffin (although Griffin did develop a lot more explosiveness at this age). But can he gain more explosiveness, agility, and speed? Absolutely yes. It's a widely accepted rule of athletics that players will advance athletically as they move rom 17 to 22 years old.

Gasol looks a bit more comfortable in his body than Bender currently does. And to answer your question about whether Gasol provides justification for picking Bender: He does because at Bender's age, Gasol was ineffective and playing out of position because he hadn't gotten comfortable in his body yet.

If Bender had two more years in Europe, I could completely see him having similar impact/numbers as Gasol.

[droopdog7]

My biggest concern with Bender is that he lacks the pure explosiveness to be a 25ppg scorer in the NBA.

I think his ultimate best case is some kind of poor man's Nowitzki on offense that can control a game defensively with his length...ala Draymond Green.

There's still plenty of bustability there but i wont be upset if we take him at #3.

How explosive is Pau Gasol?  Would you take Gasol with the third pick?  I would; by a mile. 

Explosiveness is great but there is more than one way to skin a cat.  Bender has length, speed, and other skills to make up for not being explosive (i.e., jumping ability).  Besides, jumping ability is completely overrated.

Do yourself a favor and watch some footage of a 19-year old Pau Gasol in the ACB finals.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZZETQoe-0U

Yes. This is how explosive a young Gasol was. Against what some folks here like to describe as "grown men" in arguably the best league in Europe.

Okay, and I will compare that to Bender when he reaches the same age as Gasol was in that video.  I will see you in about a year and a half to compare.

Gasol was almost 20 in that video. Bender started this past season as a 17 year old.

And?

Do we seriously have to go over this AGAIN?

Apparently, since people refuse to stop and think. Do you think Bender will become any more explosive over the next one and a half year? Has he really become more explosive over the last one year? Does Gasol look more physically mature to you than Bender in this video? Why do folks think that Gasol, who was picked as a 20-year old ACB finals MVP and a vastly superior player offer any justification for picking Bender?

Come on. Be intellectually honest. a 17-18 year old is not as advanced athletically as a 19-20 year.

I can't think about any 18-year olds who miraculously transformed themselves from average leapers into explosive athletic marvels. This is a red herring. It doesn't happen.

Do you seriously think that Bender is not explosive/athletic enough?  That he doesn't at least compare to Pau Gasol?  Come on, we aren't comparing Eric Montross to Shawn Kemp here in terms of athleticism.  Bender is similar in terms of athleticism and build to Pau Gasol, a full two years younger in the videos that we see on Bender.

Here is bender against peers.  Not athletic enough?  Come on.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbrXB3Lcung

[kozlodoev]

Here is bender against peers.  Not athletic enough?  Come on.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbrXB3Lcung

He does look fantastic when guarded by kids half a foot shorter than him, doesn't he?

[droopdog7]

Here is bender against peers.  Not athletic enough?  Come on.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbrXB3Lcung

He does look fantastic when guarded by kids half a foot shorter than him, doesn't he?

You mean kids his own age?

[DefenseWinsChamps]

Here is bender against peers.  Not athletic enough?  Come on.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbrXB3Lcung

He does look fantastic when guarded by kids half a foot shorter than him, doesn't he?

Yeah, it's almost like what he would play like if he played in high school- except in that video he would have been a junior.

[kozlodoev]

Here is bender against peers.  Not athletic enough?  Come on.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbrXB3Lcung

He does look fantastic when guarded by kids half a foot shorter than him, doesn't he?

Yeah, it's almost like what he would play like if he played in high school- except in that video he would have been a junior.

Uh-huh, and there's a good reason why you can't pick kids out of high school in the draft anymore.

[alldaboston]

Here is bender against peers.  Not athletic enough?  Come on.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbrXB3Lcung

He does look fantastic when guarded by kids half a foot shorter than him, doesn't he?

Most people in the NBA aren't going to be as tall as Bender.

[kozlodoev]

Here is bender against peers.  Not athletic enough?  Come on.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbrXB3Lcung

He does look fantastic when guarded by kids half a foot shorter than him, doesn't he?

Most people in the NBA aren't going to be as tall as Bender.

Do I really need to reply to this, or you'll figure it out on your own?

[DefenseWinsChamps]

Here is bender against peers.  Not athletic enough?  Come on.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbrXB3Lcung

He does look fantastic when guarded by kids half a foot shorter than him, doesn't he?

Yeah, it's almost like what he would play like if he played in high school- except in that video he would have been a junior.

Uh-huh, and there's a good reason why you can't pick kids out of high school in the draft anymore.

Because bad scouting led to too many players being bad at basketball, which diluted the nba product. That doesn't mean that thereby aren't some who are legit.

Edit: never mind. It's impossible to have reasonable conversations with you. There is no balance. If you don't like him as a prospect, that's fine. But don't twist the significant strengths and evidence that he shows potential. He might bust. There is evidence to support that. He might also be a star, there is evidence to support that.

I'm not going to argue with you anymore about obvious evidence that supports that he will be a successful NBA player.

[The One]

My biggest concern with Bender is that he lacks the pure explosiveness to be a 25ppg scorer in the NBA.

I think his ultimate best case is some kind of poor man's Nowitzki on offense that can control a game defensively with his length...ala Draymond Green.

There's still plenty of bustability there but i wont be upset if we take him at #3.

How explosive is Pau Gasol?  Would you take Gasol with the third pick?  I would; by a mile. 

Explosiveness is great but there is more than one way to skin a cat.  Bender has length, speed, and other skills to make up for not being explosive (i.e., jumping ability).  Besides, jumping ability is completely overrated.

Do yourself a favor and watch some footage of a 19-year old Pau Gasol in the ACB finals.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZZETQoe-0U

Yes. This is how explosive a young Gasol was. Against what some folks here like to describe as "grown men" in arguably the best league in Europe.

Okay, and I will compare that to Bender when he reaches the same age as Gasol was in that video.  I will see you in about a year and a half to compare.

Gasol was almost 20 in that video. Bender started this past season as a 17 year old.

And?

Do we seriously have to go over this AGAIN?

Apparently, since people refuse to stop and think. Do you think Bender will become any more explosive over the next one and a half year? Has he really become more explosive over the last one year? Does Gasol look more physically mature to you than Bender in this video? Why do folks think that Gasol, who was picked as a 20-year old ACB finals MVP and a vastly superior player offer any justification for picking Bender?

Come on. Be intellectually honest. a 17-18 year old is not as advanced athletically as a 19-20 year.

I can't think about any 18-year olds who miraculously transformed themselves from average leapers into explosive athletic marvels. This is a red herring. It doesn't happen.

He is not going to turn into Blake Griffin (although Griffin did develop a lot more explosiveness at this age). But can he gain more explosiveness, agility, and speed? Absolutely yes. It's a widely accepted rule of athletics that players will advance athletically as they move rom 17 to 22 years old.

Gasol looks a bit more comfortable in his body than Bender currently does. And to answer your question about whether Gasol provides justification for picking Bender: He does because at Bender's age, Gasol was ineffective and playing out of position because he hadn't gotten comfortable in his body yet.

If Bender had two more years in Europe, I could completely see him having similar impact/numbers as Gasol.

I agree with this sentiment.

[kozlodoev]

Here is bender against peers.  Not athletic enough?  Come on.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbrXB3Lcung

He does look fantastic when guarded by kids half a foot shorter than him, doesn't he?

Yeah, it's almost like what he would play like if he played in high school- except in that video he would have been a junior.

Uh-huh, and there's a good reason why you can't pick kids out of high school in the draft anymore.

Because bad scouting led to too many players being bad at basketball, which diluted the nba product. That doesn't mean that thereby aren't some who are legit.

No amount of scouting can tell you whether the kid whose stiffest competition came from the 6'4 center of SmallTown High in the next borough over would be a stud or a dud in the NBA.

Edit: never mind. It's impossible to have reasonable conversations with you. There is no balance. If you don't like him as a prospect, that's fine. But don't twist the significant strengths and evidence that he shows potential. He might bust. There is evidence to support that. He might also be a star, there is evidence to support that.

I'm not twisting anything. So far, he hasn't shown a particularly strong ability in anything that an NBA big man is expected to do. If you, by some flight of imagination, consider this "evidence that he shows potential", that's your problem.

[cltc5]

I rather pick Thon Maker at #16 than Bender at #3. Get your shooter at #3 and choose your bigs later.

Logic like gold

[walker834]

I disagree with that.  I'd still rather get the right player and that's Bender.