NBA Trade Rumors: Would a Jeremy Lin for Dragan Bender deal work?

NBA Trade Rumors: Phoenix Suns owner Robert Sarver has a strong desire to acquire a starting point guard which opens the door for the Atlanta Hawks to offer a Jeremy Lin for Dragan Bender

"“I would say it’s definitely at the top of the list.”"

Phoenix Suns owner Robert Sarver said this on Tuesday during an interview with Arizona’s Sports station in regards to whether the organization will continue to look for a starting point guard. Unfortunately, for Sarver, there is only one affordable player available right now who would fit the criteria of a starting point guard, Jeremy Lin.

Lin is a 30-year-old point guard who has started 217 regular season games over an eight-year NBA career. Not only does he have plenty of starting experience but Jeremy also plays for a rebuilding team in the Hawks who are willing to trade him for a young player/pick.

Consequently, the Atlanta Hawks should prey on Robert Sarver’s unrelenting desire to acquire a starting point guard. The team should offer Jeremy Lin in exchange for 20-year-old power forward Dragan Bender and the contract of Darrell Arthur.

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There is a perception within the NBA community that Dragan Bender has had a disappointing start to his career. Dave King of brightsideofthesun.com stated that Bender didn’t live up to expectations last season:

"” Last year, Bender disappointed many (most) (okay, all) with just 6.5 points and 4.4 rebounds per game playing the second-most minutes on the entire team. He played all 82 games, with a consistent 25 minutes per game."

However, one can argue that a portion of his struggles are related to Dragan Bender being put in positions where he is always forced to work on his weakness.

According to Mike Schmidt formerly of Draft Express, Dragan struggled with shooting coming up through the European ranks:

"” Coming up through the youth ranks, shooting was arguably Bender’s biggest flaw."

Despite the perceived weakness, Dragan Bender has taken over 65 percent of his shots from the behind the arc in two seasons with the Suns. The Suns strategy worked because he significantly improved his shooting from the first to the second year. During his rookie year, he shot 27.7 percent taking 2.3 3’s per game. The following season he improved his shooting by 8.9 percent on 3.9 3’s per game.

Therefore, it is reasonable to assume that Dragan Bender should continue to improve as a shooter if given playing time. Unfortunately, it is unlikely that he will get playing time as ESPN has him listed as the third-string center.

Subsequently, he would benefit from a trade to Atlanta because the Hawks are currently combing through internal options in their quest to find a stretch power forward. The Hawks are now experimenting with having John Collins shoot 3’s. In two preseason games, he has gone 0 for 3 from behind the arc.

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A trade for Dragan Bender would allow the team to get a better stretch power forward for a low price. Furthermore, John Collins could go back to focusing on his strengths which is dunking and rebounding.

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