The 2016 NBA Draft is stating to take shape, at least on paper- Ben Simmons #1 to the Philadelphia 76ers, Brandon Ingram #2 to the L.A. Lakers, and Dragan Bender, possibly the next Kristaps Porzingis, #3 to the Boston Celtics.
ESPN College Hoops and International Draft expert Fran Fraschilla discussed the 2016 NBA Draft on a media conference call, and Here are transcripts of some of the highlights of the Dragan Bender and Kristaps Porzingus discussion below, via an ESPN release.
Q. Had a question about Bender and what you thought about if there’s a comparison with Porzingis and how high you think he could go, how similar are they, and were you surprised that Kristaps — because looking at your transcript from last year, you said he was two years away, Kristaps. Are you surprised by what he did this year?
FRASCHILLA: Well, I was surprised more by the incident he had. I was always very high on Kristaps because he played at a high level, and I don’t remember exactly what I told you, but I thought the thing that got him through this first season, besides the elite athleticism was his heart. He doesn’t mind getting dunked on and doesn’t mind trying to dunk on you back at the other end.
Having said that, this is a different animal with Bender, because Dragan has not played enough basketball at as high a level as Kristaps Porzingus was thrown into at the ACB level. And he’s a little bit different in that I think Kristaps, while he’s a perimeter outside/inside player right now, Bender is more of strictly a perimeter stretch 4-man. He can shoot the ball well. He moves his feet well and he can defend.
I think he’s going to be a better defender than people think, but he’s not nearly the finished product right now that Porzingis was a year ago, and in that sense it’s unfair to compare them.
He’s going to be in the Top-10, potentially the top five, but I think his best days are ahead of him. Remember, he may be the youngest player in the draft. I haven’t checked that, but he’s very close to being the youngest player in this draft.
Q. You actually said that Kristaps had as much upside as Towns and Okafor, do you still think that Bender doesn’t quite have that upside that?
FRASCHILLA: He’s less experienced. He doesn’t have the level of minutes played at the level that Porzingis played at the last two years in the ACB in Seville. He’s been in and out of the Maccabi Tel Aviv lineup this year, and rightfully so, by the way, because he’s 18 and a half years old. And Zinger might have been maybe a year older at the same stage, but you’re talking about a guy that was thrown into the second-best league in the world and he was able to swim rather than sink.
Bender is a terrific prospect but he’s a different kind of player than Porzingis is.
Q. That third player outside of the top two, what kind of prospects — who is on that list, do you think, which might be the third guy that we like
FRASCHILLA: I think my gut feeling is, given where the Celtics are and where a number of teams are thinking right now, that Bender is going to be in the five to seven, eight range. That’s just my own opinion, but obviously a very good long-term prospect.
Here’s the link to our latest NBA mock draft. We do have Dragan Bender slotted to the Celtics and here’s why:
3. Boston (from BRK)-Dragan Bender, PF, Bosnia, 7-0, 1997.
Expect the Celtics to actively shop this pick in hopes of landing a proven player who can help them right now. If they keep this pick, Boston could have a few frontcourt players hit free agency this summer so should look to add depth inside with one of their first rounders. Bender is a versatile forward with great skill for his size and could add a different dimension to the Boston frontcourt.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, partnered with FOX Sports Engage Network. and News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, currently contributes regularly to the Chicago Tribune’s RedEye publication and Bold Global.
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