Suns coach Earl Watson said Monday that Bender could see time at small forward, power forward and center this season, Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic reports.
Though the Suns spent top 10 picks on both Bender and Marquese Chriss this past June, both are still somewhat raw and will open the season in bench roles, with Watson proclaiming that T.J. Warren, Jared Dudley and Tyson Chandler are his three starters in the frontcourt. The 7-foot-1 Bender figures to be a rotation option off the bench to give the Suns some additional size at power forward along with some outside shooting, and the big man's positional versatility also helps his case for finding more time. While Bender has multiple different avenues to playing time, the 19-year-old will need to show that he's deserving of it after an uninspiring showing in summer league. His summer struggles carried over to Monday's preseason opener against the Spurs, during which Bender scored zero points (0-4 FG, 0-1 3Pt) and added four rebounds, one assist and one block while committing four fouls in 24 minutes.