Dragan Bender will suit up for his third season with the Phoenix Suns. With so much cloudiness surrounding him and his future, will he show a beam of light in the present and prove his earlier hype?
The new season is almost here and there are so many new names and faces.
Existing players will have to earn/solidify their roles. With a good mix of promising youth as well as proven veterans – and with the team wanting to win – there will not be as much room for error and players will be pushed harder than ever to perform, or others will replace them.
One player that will be under the spotlight in that regard is former number four overall pick, Dragan Bender.
The team recently traded Marquese Chriss, the other forward that Suns General Manager acquired in the lottery of the 2016 NBA Draft.
Before that, they parted ways with Tyler Ulis, their second round pick from that draft.
Only Bender remains on board. Those two moves should give Bender extra motivation, showing that he can shape up to avoid being shipped out.
With the Houston trade, the front office also showed that they have officially chosen Bender over Chriss.
That gesture should definitely help his confidence.
At the same time, it should also light a fire under him as he needs to prove that was not a mistake.
Thus far, he’s been frustrating but promising at the same time. Let’s take a look at the jump he took from his horrid rookie year to his “there’s much more to be desired” sophomore year.