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Milwaukee Bucks: Dragan Bender set out template for success with preseason play

By Jordan Treske

MILWAUKEE, WI - OCTOBER 9: Dragan Bender #17 of the Milwaukee Bucks dunks the ball against the Utah Jazz on October 9, 2019 at the Fiserv Forum Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Gary Dineen/NBAE via Getty Images).
MILWAUKEE, WI - OCTOBER 9: Dragan Bender #17 of the Milwaukee Bucks dunks the ball against the Utah Jazz on October 9, 2019 at the Fiserv Forum Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Gary Dineen/NBAE via Getty Images). /
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Forced to seek a fresh start over the summer, Dragan Bender may have found the foundation to lasting success with the Milwaukee Bucks, if his play during their preseason is any indication.

If there was any question over whether the Milwaukee Bucks were ready for the regular season to start, wrapping up an undefeated preseason slate should do the trick.

The Bucks are on the heels of winning all five of their preseason tilts by a combined 80-point margin, which was all the more impressive with a rotating list of absences for each and every one of the tune up games.

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Because of that, there was a platform for some of the Bucks’ less established additions from the offseason to make their case to make the Bucks’ opening night roster with playing time, even if most of them faced an uphill battle in that regard.

That’s where fourth-year big man Dragan Bender displayed why he may be line to make the Bucks’ final roster ahead of rosters being cut down late Monday afternoon.

Having seen his three-year stint with the Phoenix Suns unceremoniously end over the summer after being selected with the fourth overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft, suffice to say a fresh start was needed for Bender to jumpstart his unrealized NBA career to this point. The opportunity to do so came in late June when the Bucks signed the 21-year-old to a two-year, incentive-laden deal that required some urgency to perform both in training camp and preseason.

Through those five preseason games, Bender did just that and showcased the skill-set that once appealed to many teams across the league before landing in Phoenix more than three years ago. Over his 15 minutes per game across his five preseason appearances, Bender averaged 10.4 points on 17-of-28 shooting from the field (60.7 percent), 7-for-13 from three (53.8 percent), 4.8 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.4 blocks.

Even with that production coming under the caveat that Bender was mostly facing reserves and players on similar footing as he is on opposing rosters, it’s still shows just how up to speed Bender has gotten under his new surroundings.

Bender’s play over the last week and a half has left quite an impression on Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer, as the reigning NBA Coach of the Year recently discussed with Matt Velazquez of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

"“(Bender’s) just a skilled player,” Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said. “To be his size and be able to shoot it, pass it, catch and finish, we just feel like there’s a lot of skill to work with. I think him picking up everything is pretty impressive. We’re just going to continue working on his body, get him stronger, get him leaner, just all those things we feel like can help us when we need him.”"

Thinking of the long road is the key for Bender to harness the very potential that made him such a blue-chip prospect not that long ago, and age is certainly on his side as he looks to reclaim the ground and development he lost in the desert over his first three NBA seasons.

Of course, first comes the news of whether Bender not only makes the opening night roster, but is able to secure his stay in Milwaukee throughout the 2019-20 campaign, given the guarantee dates that are still to come in his contract.

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Extended rotation minutes look hard to come by for Bender this season, given the depth the Bucks have amassed over the last year, and certainly this offseason. But that shouldn’t detract the Croatian international from the ultimate goal of being a fixture in the NBA and, right now, the Bucks and the development structure they have in place offer him the best spot to make that a reality.

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