The heat of a thousand suns may one day fly from the hands of Dragan Bender.
A team that seemed to be on fire for all the wrong reasons, Phoenix landed an 18-year-old, agile, 7-1 Toni Kukoc visionary at No. 4 overall. The Croatian Dragan has a slight frame that will likely limit his impact as a rookie, but he’s probably going to fill out quite a bit over the next few years—and he just might grow a few more inches as well.
While playing for Maccabi Tel Aviv, Bender was often tasked with chasing guards and wings around the perimeter. As you can imagine, the big man was beaten to the basket at times. However, he also showed an incredible ability to get back into those same plays and disrupt or block shots.
Bender also spent the majority of his time offensively along the perimeter, but he is a graceful runner, cutter, rebound-seeker, dribbler, finisher, passer, and player. As others have pointed out (including the always useful DraftExpress), he doesn’t have the elite explosive athleticism or rim-protecting of Kristaps Porzingis, but Dragan is a unique young player capable of creating his own legacy. Bender is a giant possessing guard skills—the combination of size and skill that Jonathan Tjarks refers to when explaining that seven-footers could be set to reclaim dominance over a league that was once theirs and theirs alone. Bender could conceivably end up playing the five if he fills out his frame over the next five-plus seasons, but he also might be better suited at the three or four.
Fours and fives of all sizes, shapes, and playing styles—Draymond, Drummond, DeAndre, Tristan Thompson, Durant, and LeBron are going to bully or out-quick Bender in year one. Year two will probably be more of the same. As a result, we will probably see him drift to the perimeter on defense—as he has in the past. The biggest question about Bender (at least for me) is whether he can survive on defense, as Kukoc was consistently attacked on that end. Yet, watching footage of Bender’s game and listening to him speak during interviews, I see a poised young man who is ready to work and carve out a place for himself in this league.
Bender will almost assuredly take a few years to even scratch the surface of his NBA potential, but he will have all the same advantages that his idol (White Magic) did growing up. Kukoc helped keep the Bulls in the title conversation while Michael Jordan took a swing at baseball, and the “Croatian Kid” was a key member of the three championship teams that followed. At 7-1 with an outside-in game, 20-20 passing vision, and a great general feel for the game, Bender could become a matchup nightmare for opponents at all positions. The one thing that sort of sticks out to me offensively is a slow release on his jumper, but I don’t think it’s a stretch to say he should’ve been seriously considered at No. 2 and even No. 1 overall. Kukoc didn’t have the quickest release on his shot either, but he could easily shoot over smaller defenders and blow past bigger ones who tried to crowd him on the perimeter. As Danny Chau of “The Ringer” noted though, being an international man of mystery has typically been too much for NBA GM’s to look past at the top of the order. Only time will tell whether Bender will live up to expectations, but he certainly seems worthy of the No. 4 selection.
What happened after Phoenix landed Bender? They swooped in and stole Marquese Chriss at No. 8 after completing a deal with Sacramento. Chriss had skyrocketed up draft boards in the weeks leading up to June 23, and he seemed likely to hear his name called in the first four picks. The Celtics selected Jaylen Brown, and the trickle-down effect was that Phoenix wound up addressing its most pressing need—the four—with two of the highest upside players in the class. As Dave King of “Bright Side of the Sun” pointed out, the two are as opposite as it gets when it comes to their games. Chriss is an astounding specimen known for swatting and swishing shots and slamming down dunks, more the shoot-first, ask questions later type of guy. Meanwhile, Bender prefers to pass. Chriss also didn’t fall in love with the sport in first grade and spend years honing his craft at a basketball academy, so his general hoops IQ is not on Bender’s level right now. For whatever reason, the first person that comes to mind when searching for an (overly) optimistic NBA comparison is a more athletic and defensively-capable version of Rashard Lewis.
Landing Bender and Chriss is a dreamy draft for the Suns, who now possess plenty of talent on a roster that was looking heavy at the one and five. Bender and Chriss could both prove effective at playing multiple positions on both ends of the floor in a league where versatility has become the name of the game. Imagine if the Suns actually just solved the three and four spots long-term plus Bledsoe, Booker, and Len hit their strides and become the best versions of themselves. It might be too much to ask for all of this (especially when Bledsoe has had his fair share of injuries), but Booker and Len are on the up-and-up—and things just got a whole lot brighter in the desert.
A roster with Eric Bledsoe, Brandon Knight, Devin Booker, Alex Len, Dragan Bender, Marquese Chriss, P.J. Tucker, and Tyson Chandler isn’t going to be walkover-matchup material if all goes well. Neither Bender nor Chriss need to be relied on to produce much right away, but both should get decent looks in an offense with some solid playmakers. This allows the rookies to develop slowly instead of throwing them right into the pit of heat that is heavy minutes and lofty expectations against grown professionals.
In terms of raw upside and fit, it’s hard to argue that anyone else came away with more from the lottery portion of the draft. In the second round, the Suns nabbed Tyler Ulis, an undersized ball-handler with a near-immaculate basketball IQ. Unless Knight or Bledsoe is traded or injured, Ulis might not have much opportunity to contribute as a rookie. Still, he could be a valuable player down the line in a backcourt pairing with former Kentucky Wildcat teammate Devin Booker.
For a team that had one of the more depressing overall outlooks going into the draft with trade rumors swirling, the Suns turned the franchise outlook around with three solid selections. All three rookies are projected to make their debuts in the Las Vegas Summer League on July 9.
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