Atlanta Hawks: 5 Unorthodox Free Agents Team Could Sign

Dragan Bender, Unrestricted Free Agent

Our first unorthodox choice for the Atlanta Hawks in free agency is none other than the Dragon, Dragan Bender of the Phoenix Suns.

Now, I know what you’re thinking, but hold your horses. Despite being labeled as one of the worst draft picks in the past decade (or of all time), Bender still has real NBA size at 7-foot-1 and is still, despite being in the league for 3 years, only 21 years old.

Sure, Bender has a career 7.1 player efficiency rating and has only accrued 0.3 career win shares across 167 games played, but here’s the thing: Why not take a swing on a player who still just might have untapped upside?

The Hawks have already shown that they can tap into a player’s shooting potential, and they’ve already shown the ability to transform a depressed Phoenix Suns big man into a serviceable NBA player (looking at Alex Len on that one).

Bender has long been comfortable shooting the ball from deep, and his second season at age 20 showed that he might be able to serve as a long-range shooter at the four or five. In his second year in the league, Bender shot 36.6 percent from deep on a 66.5 three-point attempt rate – both of which were career-highs.

It will likely not take much more than a minimum contract to obtain Bender, and if he doesn’t work out, simply waive him.

This would simply be a low-cost flyer on a young player that has not panned out so far in his NBA career.