I think from a health standpoint Bender is the biggest risk in the lottery. He's a 7 footer who's never played above 216 lbs. His build is similar to a young Kevin Durant (who's already lost an NBA season to a broken foot) in that they both have extremely narrow shoulders. Durant had to add almost 30 lbs after entering the NBA just to play mostly on the perimeter. Coincidentally, both players weighed in at 216 lbs at their pre draft workouts. Even if Bender adds just 25 lbs to play in the NBA does anyone feel confident he'll be able to carry that weight safely over the course of an NBA season? Bender's brother - who is his closest genetic match and who did play reasonable minutes in a professional league has torn his ACL... Twice.
Unlike any of the college prospects, we have no idea how Bender will hold up physically over the course of a season since he's only played a few minutes a game. You can fall in love with his potential, but the single most important quality of any professional athlete is health - ie the ability to play big minutes and play them over an 82 game schedule plus playoff games.
nice points. best case he won't be ready until 2-3 years later
can't see CBS playing anyone not physically ready to withstand the NBA grind
So for the bagillionth time I ask why you think Ingram would get picked? Bender's body is far superior to Ingram's right now. Using your logic Ingram won't see the floor for all of his rookie contract here...
Hunter played this year, if you have a skill that fits then you will play. Both Ingram AND Bender have skills we need in our team so they will play.
I can't wait for the workouts to begin so we can clear up the fact that Bender is for real. People are calling Maker a better player for ****! Guarantee that if Bender had gone to school with Maker, was born in Louisiana and had a hard upbringing in the rough part of town he'd be the consensus number 1 on here.. it's so twisted..
1. Brendan Ingram is a small forward.
2. Ingram has absolutely dominant physical attributes (height, length) for the small forward position. There might be one or two small forwards in the entire NBA who are longer than Ingram. He's going to be able to shoot over just about every single small forward in the NBA. Even if he gets switched over to the PF spot from time to time, his 7'3" length is still going to give him an advantage against almost all NBA power forwards.
3. While physical strength is a factor at the Small Forward spot, it's not something the position outright depends on. Tayshaun Prince was perfectly effective for many years as a starting Small Forward, and even after years as a pro he was probably no more muscular then Ingram is now. Durant is another example of a twiggy young kid who had a lot of success at the SF spot as a rookie.
4) Ingram is a very good scorer. He can hit a variety of touch shots, and has an extremely polished offensive game. He's show the ability to score in isolation, to score one-on-one, even against quality defensive players.
5) Ingram is incredbily skinny, but he has a very wide frame, wide shoulders, etc. His body reminds me of a young Anthony Davis in that regard. He looks like a guy who could add bulk. With Bender I'm no so sure, as he really does look like he has a pretty small and narrow frame.
Bender projects to play PF / C - positions that are highly dependant on physicality. He's going to have to try to hold his rebounding and defensive position against guys who are so much stronger it isn't even funny. He's going occasionally have to switch on to NBA centers, where he is potentially going to come up against guys like:
* Nerlens Noel (7'0", 7'5" wingspan)
* Demarcus Cousins (6'11", 7'5" wingspan, 270 pounds)
* Greg Monroe (6'11", 7'2" wingspan, 250 pounds)
* Pau Gasol (7'0", 7'5" wingspan, 250 pounds)
* Marc Gasol (7'0", 7'5" wingspan, 250 pounds)
* Joel Embiid (7'0", 7'6" wingspan, 260 pounds)
* Jahlil Okafor (6'11", 7'5" wingspan, 260 pounds)
* Dirk Nowitski (7'0", 7'5" wingspan, 240 pounds)
Even with a 7'0" height and a 7'2" wingspan, Bender is often going to face guys who are longer then he is - and he's almost always going to face guys who are stronger than he is.
To put things into perspective, Brandon Bass, Paul Millsap, Jordan Mickey and Kawhi Leonard actually have around the same wingspan as Bender. Sully's wingspan is only 1" shorter.
In his current league, Bender's height, length and mobility give him a major advantage against 80% - 90% of the guys he comes up against. The NBA is probably the most athletic league in the world, and when rookie big men come here usually the first thing they talk about adjusting to is the size, strength and athleticism of all the big men.
Bender isn't going to have the same big size advantage in the NBA as he has right now - his length and height will be merely sufficient to allow him to remain competitive...it's not going to be nearly sufficient to make up for his lack of physical strength. If he can build up his body to be in the 235 pound - 240 pound range, then he'll be fine. He won't have an advantage necessarily, but he'll be fine.
Bender doesn't have the physical attributes to give him a dominant edge so he's going to need to rely on his finesse and skills to give him an edge - and I think his finesse and skills are going to need a LOT of development before he will gain any type of edge from them.
Just my 2 cents.
