Knicks sign Jonathan Bender! He hasn't played in NBA in years

[bagelred]

OK, NOW I get why they signed him.....Alan Hahn on twitter or someone who replied hit the nail on the head.

Bender was signed primarily as a trade asset.

Notice he was signed on December 13th, out of the blue. This is so Knicks can have him on roster for at least 60 days and then he can be included in trades before February 19th trade deadline.

So if Knicks need to throw Bender into a deal to get a matching trade, they can do it. Before the deadline......

So Walsh gets his buddy some money, Knicks get a good guy on roster who could give them a few minutes, but primarily it was to have as a future asset. Without having to pay him from day 1 of the season.

[boozehound]

OK, NOW I get why they signed him.....Alan Hahn on twitter or someone who replied hit the nail on the head.

Bender was signed primarily as a trade asset.

Notice he was signed on December 13th, out of the blue. This is so Knicks can have him on roster for at least 60 days and then he can be included in trades before February 19th trade deadline.

So if Knicks need to throw Bender into a deal to get a matching trade, they can do it. Before the deadline......

So Walsh gets his buddy some money, Knicks get a good guy on roster who could give them a few minutes, but primarily it was to have as a future asset. Without having to pay him from day 1 of the season.

how is a dude who was medically retired at age 25 (with career highs of ~7 and 3 rbs) an asset 3 years later?

[AAckley1]

Man, everyone in the state of Indiana was behind Jonathan Bender. If he would of never grown as much as he had, (he was 6'9 when the Pacers drafted him), I really think he could have been special.

As much as people talk about Bender's career stats, you should realize the Pacers were stocked in the frontcourt at that time. JO7, Harrington, Foster, Brad Miller, Austin Croshere all got minutes over him.

In case you guys forgot, Bender broke "you know whos" McDonald's All-American Game scoring record, and was the first high school player to score double digits in his first game (10 points in 13 minutes)

I think the skill set is there for him to succeed, it's if his body can hold up is the question.

[InspiredLebowski]

how is a dude who was medically retired at age 25 (with career highs of ~7 and 3 rbs) an asset 3 years later?

It's not that Bender himself can actually net anything in a deal, but his contract (just short of $1mm or so with his experience I think) can help facilitate a deal as filler. Walsh helps Bender (more then he already did with the ridiculous extension) and continues his streak of never admitting a mistake.

[bagelred]

It's not that Bender himself can actually net anything in a deal, but his contract (just short of $1mm or so with his experience I think) can help facilitate a deal as filler. Walsh helps Bender (more then he already did with the ridiculous extension) and continues his streak of never admitting a mistake.

This is how he's an asset.

[niko]

Besides the fact it's the Knicks, and you all like to bag on them, how is signing someone who was immensely talented but had injury problems to a 1 year contract (no future liability) to see what he can do a bad move? There is no downside. There may be no upside, but there is absolutely ZERO downside.

[Poodle]

It's not that Bender himself can actually net anything in a deal, but his contract (just short of $1mm or so with his experience I think) can help facilitate a deal as filler. Walsh helps Bender (more then he already did with the ridiculous extension) and continues his streak of never admitting a mistake.

I don't really understand this. Are there not a plethora of players that aren't playing in the NBA right now where a team can gain this same type of asset? Or is Bender somehow a special case because he retired due to knee issues when it comes to his contract?

i saw him play in Indiana and he got decent run sometimes. I wasn't impressed at all. Then again i'm not impressed with Brandon Rush either, i have no idea what they see in some of these players.

[Mateo]

I hate how underachieving athletic players who suffer from injuries get dumped into the "would have been great if not the injuries" categories. You can't say that. You don't know.

[chocolatethunder]

Man, everyone in the state of Indiana was behind Jonathan Bender. If he would of never grown as much as he had, (he was 6'9 when the Pacers drafted him), I really think he could have been special.

As much as people talk about Bender's career stats, you should realize the Pacers were stocked in the frontcourt at that time. JO7, Harrington, Foster, Brad Miller, Austin Croshere all got minutes over him.

In case you guys forgot, Bender broke "you know whos" McDonald's All-American Game scoring record, and was the first high school player to score double digits in his first game (10 points in 13 minutes)

I think the skill set is there for him to succeed, it's if his body can hold up is the question.

Really? You mean his lack of playing time made his FG% crappy? Career 42%. How does his lack of PT explain the fact that he was a poor rebounder? Even his per 36 minutes in his best year (that he played more than 20 games) would have given him 5.8 rpg. Please stop this bs. This guy is and always was a bum. It's fantastic that he had a great game in a high school all star game but sorry to break it to you, that's not the NBA. If this guy was white you'd be laughing at how much of a bust he was.

[InspiredLebowski]

I don't really understand this. Are there not a plethora of players that aren't playing in the NBA right now where a team can gain this same type of asset? Or is Bender somehow a special case because he retired due to knee issues when it comes to his contract?

Of course there's all kinds of guys on the street they could've signed to be contract filler. But if you're a GM who drafted a high school kid in the top 5, trading a (flukey) All Star to get him, and the kid's trying to rejuvenate his career why not give him a chance?