On the day that Golden State Warriors superstar guard Steph Curry is set to return (and against the reigning NBA champions, no less), ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski has announced that forward Dragan Bender will be signing a second 10-day contract with the club.
Bender, the fourth overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft, has played in six games for Golden State (with three starts) since signing his initial 10-day contract. The 7’0” Croatian Sensation has recorded averages of 7.5 points, 6.3 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 0.7 blocks and 0.7 steals in 23.3 minutes per game, showing he can impact the game in multiple ways in his time with the Warriors.
Dragan Bender is signing a second 10-day contract with Golden State, league source tells ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) March 5, 2020
He’s only shooting 36.7% from the field and 29.2% from 3-point range but has shot at least 40% from deep in three of his six contests with the Dubs.
Earlier this week, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said he would “love” for Bender to get another 10-day contract and it’s clear that Warriors general manager Bob Myers took heed. This is the last 10-day contract that Bender can sign with Golden State though, and they’ll have to sign him for the rest of the season or beyond after this, so the versatile forward may need to bring his A-game for the next week and a half if he wants to stay in the Bay Area.
Earning the second 10-day contract is certainly a positive sign that he has a fair chance of making that happen though.