Dragan Bender Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Pacific Notes: Deng, Casspi, Bender

November 14th, 2016 at 5:59pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Lakers offseason signee Luol Deng has struggled so far this season, but the forward’s shooting and scoring woes don’t worry coach Luke Walton, Mark Medina of The Orange County Register relays. “Everyone is going to get different amounts of shots from different areas each night. It is harder in that sense to know when your shots are coming,” Walton said. “But he’s a professional, in the gym and working every day before practice and staying afterwards getting treatment. I’m not concerned with him starting to knock down his shot again.”

No matter what the stat sheet says regarding Deng, his leadership and professionalism are qualities that Walton is benefiting from on a daily basis, Medina writes. Deng’s former coach, Tom Thibodeau, also raved about the forward’s intangibles, telling the scribe, “The best leadership is really the things that you do. Often times guys will say all the right things and do none of them. Luol is not overly vocal, but when there’s something important to be said, he’ll say it.”

Here’s more from out of the Pacific Division:

Kings forward Omri Casspi, who has been mentioned in recent trade rumors, has a meeting scheduled for today with team executive Vlade Divac, Sean Cunningham of ABC 10 reports (via Twitter). Casspi, 28, has seen his playing time cut dramatically under new coach Dave Joerger, but he believes that he can help the team win, Cunningham adds.
Suns rookie Dragan Bender‘s offensive skills are his calling card, but the young big man understands that it is his defensive development that will determine his playing time, Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic writes. “I learned the hard way,” Bender said. “I came to a big club [Maccabi Tel Aviv] and thought I didn’t need to play defense because of the shooting ability and everything. But once the coach puts you on the bench and freezes you for a couple games, you realize as a young guy you have to come inside and play defense and bring the energy. Defense is just a will. It’s just a matter if you want to play it or not. You have to follow the coaches’ instructions about how you’re going to defend those teams. It doesn’t matter if you’re weak or have less muscles than those guys, you just have to fight with them for better position and get them out of there.”

Pacific Notes: Cousins, Suns, Kings, Clarkson

October 27th, 2016 at 10:33pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Kings center DeMarcus Cousins appears to be bonding with new coach Dave Joerger, a stark contrast to his well-publicized issues with former coach George Karl, according to Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee. Cousins expressed to Jones that they like each other, adding he appreciates Joerger’s straightforward approach and even-keeled personality. “I think what he brought to the team is what this team needed,” Cousins told Jones. “It fits our identity more than how we played in the past. Not to knock any of the previous situations but I think this situation fits this team the best.” Cousins’ relationship with his new coach will carefully watched, particularly if the season starts to go sour once again in Sacramento.

In other developments around the Pacific Division:

Suns coach Earl Watson will insert a pair of rookies, point guard Tyler Ulis and power forward Dragan Bender, into the second unit to replace veterans Leandro Barbosa and P.J. Tucker, Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic reports. Watson decided to make the change after an opening-night loss to the Kings. They will join Brandon Knight, fellow rookie Marquese Chriss and Alex Len on that unit, Coro adds. “To me, they play with the most heart,” Watson told Coro. “Heart gets rewarded.”
The Kings’ brass told NBA Commissioner Adam Silver they want to host the 2020 All-Star Game, Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com tweets. No formal application has been made but their desire to host that game was made clear as Silver toured the Kings’ new Golden 1 Center, Howard-Cooper adds.
Combo guard Jordan Clarkson is not fazed by his new role as the Lakers’ sixth man, Tania Ganguli of the Los Angeles Times relays. The former starter had 23 second-half points and three steals in their opening-night win over the Rockets. “He’s been absolutely great,” Walton told Ganguli. “I’ve talked to him about starting or coming off the bench; he’s been good with both. It’s nice to have guys like that on your team.”

Western Notes: Chriss, Jazz, Curry

September 5th, 2016 at 7:50pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Suns primary target with the No. 4 overall pick in this year’s NBA Draft was Dragan Bender, due to his combination of size and skill, Ian Thomsen of NBA.com writes. But the franchise was also enamored with Marquese Chriss‘ potential, which prompted the team to work out a trade with the Kings to allow them to select the forward out of Washington, the scribe adds. “It’s an idea we came up with on the morning of the draft, once we had more information about who was likely to go where,” Phoenix GM Ryan McDonough said. “We felt like if the Celtics took Jaylen Brown at No. 3, which they did, and we took either Dragan Bender or Marquese Chriss, the next three picks would be guards. That’s exactly the way it happened: Kris Dunn to Minnesota, Buddy Hield to New Orleans and Jamal Murray to Denver.”

Discussions between Phoenix and Sacramento regarding the No. 8 pick began a week prior to the draft, Thomsen notes.. “It’s really hard to acquire picks in the mid-lottery,” said McDonough. “We knew Sacramento would consider dropping down from 8 to 13 if we made it worth their while. But both teams wanted to get on the clock in the draft to see who was still available on the board. We took Dragan and said, let’s see what we can do to get No. 8 and get both of them. We think those two guys are perfect for the modern NBA, where athleticism and shooting and defensive versatility is at a premium, and they were the two best guys in the draft at those things.”

Here’s more from out West:

The Jazz have set themselves up for a big season, adding a number of veterans to their solid young core. But the talent the team has accumulated will become markedly more expensive over the next few season if the team wishes to keep the roster together, Tony Jone of The Salt Lake Tribune writes. “Post Karl Malone and John Stockton, the Jazz have had some decent years, most notably with Deron Williams and Paul Millsap,” said Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders. “They’ve done a great job in building this current team, but now this is a key moment. Gordon Hayward can leave, Rudy Gobert is up for an extension. The front office has to make decisions now for the long term. They need to show who they are, and the players need to show they are a core worth building around.”
Warriors guard Stephen Curry finally made himself watch Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals, telling Darren Rovell of ESPN.com that he is using the loss as motivation for the coming season. “I was a little mad at myself and getting back into the grind of working out for next season,” Curry said. “I think it was a good motivator to get back into the gym and keep working. I wasn’t 100%, but who cares? I was playing. I was out there trying to help my team win and that’s all that really matters. I’ve taken advantage of the summer to get right and I still have a little bit of work to go.“

Pacific Notes: Sanders, Kings, Joerger, Smith

July 10th, 2016 at 10:20pm CST by Arthur Hill

Despite losing two centers this summer, the Warriors haven’t reached out to Larry Sanders, writes Monte Poole of CSNBayArea. The former Bucks big man was an elite rim protector before he walked away from the game in December of 2014, citing anxiety and depression. Sanders is considering a comeback and sparked speculation on Saturday when he sent out two messages on Twitter: an image of a cavalier and a scene from a 1979 movie titled “The Warriors.” Golden State needs to find replacements for Andrew Bogut, who was traded to Dallas to create cap room for Kevin Durant, and Festus Ezeli, who signed with the Trail Blazers as a free agent.

There’s more news from the Pacific Division:

The Kings are getting plenty of calls from teams interested in Rudy Gay, Kosta Koufos and Ben McLemore, tweets James Ham of CSNCalifornia. So far, they haven’t heard an offer they like.
New Kings coach Dave Joerger doesn’t plan to coach any more summer league games, tweets Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee. Joerger said he started out in that role to set the tone for the rest of the staff.
The Kings and Clippers are among the teams that worked out J.R. Smith‘s brother this weekend in Las Vegas, tweets Chris Haynes of Cleveland.com. Chris Smith‘s only NBA experience came in two games with the Knicks in 2013.
Ryan McDonough’s first plan for a quick turnaround in Phoenix didn’t work, so now he’s rebuilding through the draft, writes Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. With two picks in the top eight, the Suns grabbed highly regarded power forward prospects Dragan Bender and Marquese Chriss. Their only free agent pickup so far this summer is veteran shooting guard Jared Dudley for $30MM over three years, a modest sum in this year’s market. “That’s certainly the most sustainable way to do it,” McDonough said about his draft strategy. “If you can draft those guys and have them under control for four years on the rookie scale and then have a bunch of advantages in terms of contract extensions and full Bird rights, that really helps.”

Suns Ink Bender, Chriss, Ulis

July 7th, 2016 at 7:44pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Suns announced that 2016 draftees Dragan Bender (No. 4 overall), Marquese Chriss (No. 8 overall) and Tyler Ulis (No. 34 overall) have officially inked their rookie-scale deals with the team.

Bender spent the 2015/16 season with Maccabi Tel Aviv of the Israeli Premier League. He averaged 5.5 points on 47.9% shooting, while connecting on 41.1% of his attempts from three-point range. Bender was the youngest player in the 2016 NBA Draft and he also became the first Croatian ever to be a top-four selection in the NBA Draft, according to the official release.

Chriss, a 6’10” power forward, averaged 13.7 points on 53.0% shooting from the field and 35.0% from beyond the arc. He also added 5.4 rebounds and 1.6 blocks over his 34 games at Washington. Chriss notched 55 blocks overall to lead all Pac-12 freshmen.

Ulis, a 5’10” point guard from Kentucky, was named the SEC Player of the Year by the coaches and media after averaging 17.3 points, 7.0 assists, 3.0 rebounds and 1.5 steals in 35 games this past season.

Pacific Notes: Rondo, Kupchak, Bender, Clippers

June 25th, 2016 at 11:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Kings‘ decision to take big men in the first round of the draft may force them to make an aggressive offer to free agent point guard Rajon Rondo, writes Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee. Sacramento traded down with its first pick and took center Georgios Papagiannis at No. 13, then later added forward Malachi Richardson at No. 22 and forward/center Skal Labissiere at No. 28. The selections leave the Kings with holes on the roster, Jones notes, and could make them desperate to keep Rondo, who led the NBA in assists this season.

There’s more news from the Pacific Division:

Kings GM/executive Vlade Divac said his team is “set” in the front court after draft night, Jones tweets. Divac adds that he is open to re-signing Rondo.
Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak hopes to surround all his young talent with some veteran leaders, posts Baxter Holmes on ESPN Now. L.A. selected Brandon Ingram on Thursday to team with D’Angelo Russell, Julius Randle, Larry Nance Jr. and Jordan Clarkson, if he re-signs with the team. “History tells you that a bunch of young guys on the team is probably not a good thing,” Kupchak said. “They look around for leadership or they look around for advice from somebody who’s been through this a couple times, and if there’s nobody to talk to, well, you don’t know how to handle the situation. So I think we will look to add some veteran leadership and hopefully it’s not only leadership but guys who can help us win games.”
The Suns feared Dragan Bender wouldn’t be available later if they didn’t take him at No. 4, tweets John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 in Phoenix. The Suns thought Denver would take Bender at No. 7, which is why they nabbed him with the fourth pick and waited until No 8 to take Marquese Chriss.
Even though they have limited cap room, the Clippers will make an effort to re-sign all their free agents, coach Doc Rivers told Rowan Kavner of NBA.com. “To a man, they all want to come back,” Rivers said. “Then there’s business. We’ll see once July 1st comes. It’s going to be interesting the way the cap’s going up. We have three Bird [Rights] guys we have a chance of signing [Jeff Green, Jamal Crawford and Luc Mbah a Moute], but they all may be — not all of them — but they may outprice and we can’t sign all three. But we’re going to try.”

Draft Rumors: Celtics, Bender, Ingram, Valentine

June 23rd, 2016 at 8:44pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Celtics weren’t able to find “realistic deals” for the No. 3 pick, tweets Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe. There was speculation that several teams, most notably the Sixers, were trying to acquire the pick to get their hands on Providence point guard Kris Dunn, but the Celtics never found an offer they liked. Instead, Boston used the pick to grab California power forward Jaylen Brown, whom the team intends to keep, according to Andy Katz of ESPN.com (Twitter link).

Celtics co-owner Wyc Grousbeck said the team never came close to making a deal, tweets Adam Kauffman of WBZ News Radio in Boston. “We did not sniff a trade today,” Grousbeck said. “It was a collection of rip-off attempts, and we laughed at them.”

There’s more as draft night heats up:

French power forward Guerschon Yabusele, the Celtics’ pick at No. 16, will probably be a draft-and-stash player, tweets Shams Charania of The Vertical.
The NBA opt-out clause for Dragan Bender is $1.2MM, according to international basketball journalist David Pick (Twitter link). The Croatian big man, who was selected fourth overall by the Suns tonight, will contribute to his release, says Pick.
Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak said his team received a lot of trade interest in the No. 2 pick, but was’t offered anything compelling enough to give up the rights to Brandon Ingram, tweets Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders.
The Bulls will keep Denzel Valentine, who was their choice at No. 14, according to K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune (Twitter link). Chicago had him ranked second on its draft board behind Dunn.
Before they made their pick at No. 13, the Kings called the Pistons about the possibility of moving back to No. 18, but Detroit turned down the offer, reports Jake Fischer of Liberty Ballers (Twitter link).
The Cavaliers, who currently don’t have a pick in either round, are trying to obtain a second-round choice, tweets Chris Haynes of The Cleveland Plain-Dealer.

Draft Rumors: Nuggets, Celtics, Sixers, Dunn

June 23rd, 2016 at 6:26pm CST by Luke Adams

With the 2016 NBA draft just minutes from getting underway, let’s round up some of the latest rumors from around the league…

According to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (via Twitter), league executives are saying that many teams with mid-to-late first-round picks are making a “great effort” to move those selections. Already today, the Pacers have moved the No. 20 pick and the Hornets have traded No. 22.
The Nuggets made an effort to move up to No. 3, but felt that the Celtics were asking for too much, reports NBA.com’s David Aldridge (Twitter link).
The Celtics aren’t considering Croatian big man Dragan Bender with the third overall pick in the draft, reports Mark Murphy of The Boston Herald. Boston instead appears to be “increasingly drawn to” Providence point guard Kris Dunn. The Sixers also like Dunn a lot, and are engaged in last-minute talks with Boston, tweets Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald.
The Suns, who have frequently been linked to Marquese Chriss at No. 4, are giving “increasing consideration” to Bender at that spot, tweets ESPN.com’s Marc Stein. Meanwhile, Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic reports that Phoenix is also gauging the value of that No. 4 pick in the event that Dunn is still on the board, since it sounds like there are a few teams coveting the point guard.
Donnie Nelson of the Mavericks thinks the draft is “a little light” in the first round, but “heavy” in the second round, and says the team is excited about the No. 46 pick. Nelson added that Dallas hasn’t ruled out trying to get into the first round for the right player (all Twitter links via Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com).

Draft Rumors: Sixers, Noel, Magic, Butler, Raps

June 23rd, 2016 at 3:55pm CST by Luke Adams

The 76ers have had “significant engagement” with the Celtics in the last 24 hours, and those trade talks are continuing, per Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (Twitter link). However, Wojnarowski reports that Philadelphia has also recently been in touch with the Timberwolves (No. 5) and Kings (No. 8). According to Michael Scotto of The Associated Press (Twitter link), the Sixers are dangling Nerlens Noel and their two picks near the end of the first round (Nos. 24 and 26) in an effort to pick up a second top-eight pick.

Here are a few more draft rumors and updates from around the NBA:

There have been reports that some teams with high picks tonight – such as the Celtics at No. 3 or the Timberwolves at No. 5 – are willing to include those selections in a package for Jimmy Butler. Frank Isola of the New York Daily News suggests (via Twitter) that the Magic are also among the teams pursuing Butler, but according to K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune (via Twitter), the Bulls forward is under the impression that Chicago intends to keep him.
If none of the consensus top eight players on draft boards slip to No. 9 for the Raptors, GM Masai Ujiri may end up taking Kentucky’s Skal Labissiere, according to ESPN’s Chad Ford (Twitter link), who is hearing “strong rumblings” about Toronto’s interest in the big man.
League sources tell Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic that Washington’s Marquese Chriss is believed to be the Suns‘ preferred target at No. 4, assuming he’s available. John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 tweets that he expects Phoenix to take either Chriss or Dragan Bender, adding that he doesn’t believe Buddy Hield or Jamal Murray are in play.
Ford (ESPN Insider-only link) and Jonathan Givony of The Vertical have both updated their mock drafts today to reflect the latest info they’re hearing from around the league.

Ford On Sixers, Lakers, J. Brown, Celtics

June 20th, 2016 at 8:54am CST by Luke Adams

The NBA world may still be recovering this morning from an incredible Game 7 in Oakland on Sunday night, but that recovery will have to happen fast — we’re only three days away from the 2016 NBA draft. As we quickly transition into the 2016 offseason, let’s round up a few of the highlights from Chad Ford’s latest mock draft at ESPN.com (Insider link), which features a handful of interesting draft tidbits…

The Sixers have had “vigorous internal debates” about the No. 1 pick, with Brandon Ingram and Kris Dunn – who would both be good fits on the roster – receiving consideration. But, as Ford writes, the team keeps coming back to the fact that Ben Simmons is the best prospect in the draft in terms of “sheer talent and upside.” Ford adds that head coach Brett Brown believes he could find a way to use Simmons as a point guard of sorts.
Although there has been some talk of the Lakers eyeing Marquese Chriss and Jaylen Brown at No. 2, Ford believes those prospects would only be in play for L.A. if the club acquired another lottery pick. Either Simmons or (more likely) Ingram figures to be the pick for the Lakers.
The Celtics have come up empty so far in their trade talks involving the No. 3 selection. That doesn’t mean Boston will definitely keep the pick, but the team doesn’t have a deal it likes for the time being. If they keep the pick, the Celtics may be leaning toward Brown, who had a “terrific” workout in Boston, says Ford.
The four players strongly in the mix for the Timberwolves at No. 5 are Brown, Kris Dunn, Jamal Murray, and Dragan Bender, according to Ford.
While the Kings are “praying” that Buddy Hield falls to No. 8, Ford says Domantas Sabonis could be a dark horse candidate for that spot, since Sacramento is very high on him.
We heard last week that Malachi Richardson may have received a promise from the Grizzlies at No. 17, and Ford’s mock draft does send Richardson to Memphis. However, the ESPN.com scribe notes that the Grizzlies are also very fond of Croatian big man Ivica Zubac, who could be in play for that slot.