Dragan Bender Declares for 2016 NBA Draft: Latest Comments and Reaction

Croatian power forward Dragan Bender declared for the 2016 NBA draft Wednesday, according to his agent, per Fran Fraschilla of ESPN.  

Bender is currently the No. 3 prospect on ESPN draft expert Chad Ford's big board and is considered a top-five talent in this year's draft. As Ford noted, "most scouts believe he is the third-best prospect in this draft and could be in the same tier with [Ben] Simmons and [Brandon] Ingram if he develops."

Bender, 18, stands 7'1" and weighs 216 pounds. He currently plays for Maccabi Tel Aviv in the Israeli Premier League. But Fraschilla doesn't expect much of a cultural adjustment for Bender, as his older brother, Ivan Bender, is a freshman at Maryland.

He also believes Bender has picked the right time to join the NBA:

Bender certainly brings a lot of positives to the table. He has excellent height and length and can play both forward positions. He's a smart player, and he has a nice combination of an inside and outside game.

As Dan Feldman of NBCSports.com noted, "He moves so well for his size, and he has shown nice touch with his passing and shooting. At times, it seems there’s nothing he can’t do. But he still needs to get stronger, develop stronger offensive moves and become more reliable with his jumper."

For teams in the lottery that miss out on Simmons or Ingram, Bender is a nice consolation prize. His upside is immense, though he remains somewhat of a lesser-known entity than the top two players on the board. Nonetheless, the immediate success of New York Knicks rookie Kristaps Porzingis—and Bender's similar skill set—will be encouraging for teams as they further scout and evaluate the young Croatian.

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