By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Dragan Bender has signed his contract with the Milwaukee Bucks, the club announced. The Croatian forward becomes the fourth European player on the team after Greek forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, his older brother, forward Thanasis Antetokounmpo and Turkish veteran forward Ersan Ilyasova.
Bender had a verbal commitment with CSKA Moscow to join the reigning EuroLeague champions if he didn’t find an NBA deal.
Per Bucks:
The Milwaukee Bucks have signed free agent forward Dragan Bender.
“Dragan is a talented young player who we’re excited to add to our team,” said General Manager Jon Horst. “At only 21 years old, Dragan will continue to develop his game by working with Coach Bud and his terrific staff.”
Bender played the last three seasons with Phoenix after being selected by the Suns with the fourth overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft. In 2018-19, he averaged 5.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 18.0 minutes per game, appearing in 46 games (27 starts) while shooting a career-high 44.7% from the field. In his three seasons with Phoenix, Bender held averages of 5.3 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 171 games (64 starts).
The 7-1 forward was selected by the Suns after playing one season with Maccabi Tel Aviv (Israel) in 2015-16 where he averaged 4.5 points and 2.5 rebounds in 38 games (3 starts).