Sports Illustrated, which also has Celts picking Bender at 3, had this to add to its reasoning for this pick, which makes a lot of sense:
"Most importantly for Danny Ainge and his itchy trade trigger finger, this keeps them flexible. While guys like Marquese Chriss and Jamal Murray and Kris Dunn are all good enough to make certain teams fall in love with them, Bender is the one prospect after Simmons and Ingram that just about every team would find enticing later this summer."
The point being, if we want to maximize a trade into the summer, Bender makes the most sense since so many teams are intrigued to get him. For example, wouldn't he make more sense going to Sacramento in a trade for Cousins, as a good complement to WCS? Sacramento will want a big in return, preferably a guy with 3 point range like Bender. Much more sense than someone like Okafor.
