Given how the Boston Celtics continue to talk about Dragan Bender, the No. 3 pick in the 2016 NBA draft doesn’t seem like much of a mystery.
The Celtics don’t figure to have a shot at either Brandon Ingram or Ben Simmons at No. 3. Bender, though, wouldn’t be a terrible consolation prize seeing as he’s a 7’1″, 216-pound big man who can shoot the ball well and has a common comparison by the name of Kristaps Porzingis.
In fact, Boston cannot seem to get enough of the international star, recently visiting him overseas and coming away impressed, according to Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald:
The Celtics president and his son, director of player personnel Austin Ainge, watched Bender in two practices with Maccabi Tel Aviv last weekend. Bender told them he will fly to Boston for a workout once Maccabi’s playoff season ends, at the latest, on June 9.
It gets better, as Austin Ainge told the media they’ve seen enough of Bender:
It’s a small body of work, but he was very good last year as a junior. Combine that with the tools he has, and you can see it all come together in 10 minutes of playing time.
This doesn’t lock down Bender as the No. 3 pick. But adding a big man makes sense from Boston’s standpoint given the strong backcourt featuring Isaiah Thomas, Marcus Smart and Avery Bradley, not to mention young developing guys such as Terry Rozier and R.J. Hunter.
Boston needs help underneath the basket and has plenty of assets to force an improvement there. Barring an unexpected fall by Ingram or Simmons, Bender might be the top answer the organization seeks as it attempts to build on what was a surprise playoff appearance.
Bender will still presumably travel to Boston for a workout before the draft. From the sounds of it, though, the brass have seen enough.
