The old Sixers regime under Sam Hinkie preached patience at every turn. They drafted 3 players in the lottery (Nerlens Noel, Joel Embiid, Dario Saric) in a two-year span who they knew would miss at least a season of basketball. They punted on free agency in multiple offseasons because they wanted to use their cap space in a wiser fashion. It led to an on-court product that wasn’t great (and that’s an understatement). The fans suffered through three years of historic losing, but for some fans, patience and hope were enough to get through it. This patience allowed the front office to make moves that were best for the team long term while sacrificing short term results. However, the clock finally ran out on the old front office. Sam Hinkie is gone and has been replaced with Bryan Colangelo. It will be interesting to see how much patience the new regime possesses. The team will obviously be a different position than they were when Hinkie took over. They are closer to meaningfully winning than they were before, so the long term view won’t be as prevalent. Still, I think it would be foolish for the team to become solely fixed on short term results. The fans should hope that the new front office can balance patience and the near future. Dragan Bender will be an interesting test case in that dynamic.
Bender, for my money, is the third best player in this draft. Many have called this a two player draft and that is true to a certain extent. Brandon Ingram and Ben Simmons are definitely the top two players in the draft. Still, I think Bender is closer to the level of Simmons and Ingram than he is to Jamal Murray and Jaylen Brown. He really is an incredible talent. Bender is 7’1” with a long wingspan and great athleticism. Bender is an incredible athlete in terms of fluid lateral movement. In Europe, he often plays small forward defensively because he is so quick. Bender also has the ability to switch out onto guards really effectively. Bender combines that athleticism with great skill. Bender is a really good outside shooter who has already expanded his range to beyond the three-point line. Bender also shows great ballhandling and passing abilities from the power forward position. He essentially has the potential to be a foundational piece on defense to go along with great offensive skill and versatility.
So where does patience come into the equation for a great prospect like Bender? First of all, there are some concerns about Bender’s frame. He needs to add a ton of weight and strength. It’s one of the reasons that he struggled to get playing time for Maccabi Tel Aviv. Bender averaged less than 10 minutes per game in his 11 games played this season. At this point in his career, he cannot bang down low with professional basketball players. Bender’s frame looks like one that can support more weight, but there will always be the concern that he will never add it. There is also the concern that Bender is under contract for a long time with Maccabi. There have been positive reports that Bender has a very workable buyout this summer. That is great news, but it also means that he has some ability to dictate which teams he would like to play for. Bender, theoretically, could refuse to come over to the NBA and continue to collect money from Maccabi if he does not like whatever team selects him. I don’t think this will be the case, but it’s something that teams have to at least keep in mind. Lastly, there are some team specific concerns surrounding Bender for the Sixers. The biggest one is that the Sixers have spent a ton of draft capital on big men already. They currently employ Joel Embiid, Nerlens Noel, Jahlil Okafor, and Dario Saric. The team also has Jerami Grant and Robert Covington, two really good young players who excel at the power forward position. There is a huge logjam in the frontcourt. It’s fair to wonder if the Sixers can really justify spending a really high pick on Bender, especially if they only have one top 5 pick.
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In my opinion, this is a risk that I would take. Bender is so young and talented. He provides everything you could want from a modern frontcourt player. On offense, he provides spacing and versatility to go along with great size. In the NBA, having the ability to space the floor and the skill to be a part of a multifaceted offense is invaluable. On defense, Bender has the incredible athleticism to switch onto guards and wings on the perimeter. Bender may not ever develop into an elite rim protector, but his length and athleticism are special enough for him to be an elite defensive player overall. All of those skills together are enough to convince me that the Sixers need to take a long look at Dragan Bender. Yes, the Sixers have spent a lot of resources on their frontcourt and I understand the fans being hesitant about spending a high pick on another big man but Bender’s fit is easier than some expect. First and foremost, Bender is a power forward. All of the Sixers highly-touted big men are centers. None of them will find elite success at power forward. Joel Embiid and Jahlil Okafor would never succeed on defense at that position. Nerlens Noel would never succeed on offense and his defensive impact would be minimized. Essentially, the Sixers have three centers and no power forwards. The Sixers obviously don’t need a power forward. They do have Dario Saric and Jerami Grant. Still, that shouldn’t be enough to dissuade the Sixers from taking a power forward. Especially a player that is as talented and fits as well as Bender should be a no-brainer for the Sixers if Simmons and Ingram are off the board.
In the end, it will come down to how patient the Sixers are. Bender won’t be an immediate impact player and will be drafted to a part of the roster that is already stacked. Can the front office deal with the scrutiny that comes with that kind of decision? Will they opt for a safer pick at a position of need like Kris Dunn or Jamal Murray? These questions both are contingent upon the team’s willingness to patiently value long term success over short term results. No matter what, Dragan Bender will be an interesting case study on the Sixers and patience.
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