Warriors Rumors: Dragan Bender Receives 2nd 10-Day Contract from Golden State

The Golden State Warriors will sign forward Dragan Bender to a second 10-day contract, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported Thursday.

Bender has played six games with Golden State, averaging 7.5 points and 6.3 rebounds per contest on 36.7 percent shooting. The 2016 lottery pick previously spent seven games with the Milwaukee Bucks this season.

Despite his shooting struggles, Bender has impressed the Warriors coaching staff. Head coach Steve Kerr told reporters this week he hopes the team signs Bender to another 10-day contract: 

"I really like Dragan; I think he's got a lot of potential. We'll see what happens going forward. I would love to give him another 10 days if that's possible. We'll figure that out as an organization going forward. He's got a lot of potential, obviously — the fourth pick in the draft, there's a reason for that. I think he's shown in the 10-days that if you give him a little confidence, you give him a chance to play and he can gain some confidence he can do a lot of good things out there. He's helped us win two games in a season when we've not won a whole lot of games. He's helped us win two of the last three and done a great job. He's fighting; he's competing. I really like him — I think he's got a future in the league."

Bender spent his first three seasons with the Phoenix Suns, where he failed to live up to the Kristaps Porzingis comparisons he received heading into the draft. While it's clear Bender will never be the star Phoenix hoped for in 2016, he can be the latest in a series of reclamation projects for the Warriors this season.

Golden State has taken its lost 2019-20 campaign and transformed it into a developmental year, hoping to strike gold on some role players who could help the team next season. The 7-foot Bender is a big body who has shooting ability on paper; if the results come, he could wind up finding a long-term home.