NBA Rumors: Warriors In No Hurry To Give Bender New Lease

Dragan Bender is one of the players that the Golden State Warriors tried out via the 10-day contract route. And while head coach Steve Kerr previously said that he liked the fourth overall pick of the 2016 NBA Draft, it appears Bender will not be getting a second 10-day deal.

Initially, it would hint that Bender did not impress that much for the Dubs to keep him on hold. However, it appears that the Warriors are looking for more flexibility but leaving the 7-footer out comes at an odd time. Golden State is severely undermanned and is set to face the Toronto Raptors next. With Draymond Green and Kevon Looney out, it will be interesting what Kerr has planned, NBC Sports reported.

As far as Bender is concerned, not being given a second 10-day contract does not mean he is out of the mix, The Athletic reported. Rather, it may be because Kerr wants to give other free agents a chance to show their wares. Hence, there is a possibility that Bender could be recalled - assuming no other team decides to give him a try.

It should also be noted that Stephen Curry is set to return to action against the Raptors. However, the two-time NBA MVP is not expected to be extensively used to prevent aggravating his broken hand. Still, it is a mystery why the Dubs would opt to play with a depleted lineup against the defending champions.

There are a lot of free agents in the market with some recently bought out. Among the ones available include Allen Crabbe and Jordan Bell. Of the two, it will be interesting if Kerr would be open to reuniting with Bell. As mentioned in a previous post, the 6-foot-8 cager passed on a qualifying offer by the Dubs and chose to join the Minnesota Timberwolves. Things did not turn out well and he would eventually be traded to the Memphis Grizzlies. He was recently waived and joins a cramped free-agent market.

Adding Bell would make sense since he is familiar with the system of Kerr. He could be kept until the end of the current NBA season but his future gets murky from there. He did not do well with the T-Wolves and strained ties make a reunion awkward. Regardless, that all depends on what Kerr plans to do moving forward.