SAN FRANCISCO _ Dragan Bender faked the pass to his left, pausing his defender, and drained an open 3-pointer from the top of the arc to score his first points with the Warriors.
In his first game with the Warriors, a 115-101 loss to the Pelicans Sunday at Chase Center, Bender displayed the floor spacing and ball skills Golden State hopes to get from him for the duration of his 10-day contract, and possibly longer.
He also showed the inconsistency that had him on the NBA's fringe before the Warriors signed him hours before Sunday's game, finishing with six points on 2-for-8 shooting, five rebounds and three assists.
The Warriors (12-45) have long been tracking Bender, the No. 4 pick in the 2016 NBA Draft, because of his potential to spread the floor from the center position and his passing ability.
When he was waived by the Bucks last week, they jumped on the opportunity to sign him to a 10-day contract, believing they could perhaps harness his best skills and help him turn his career around similar to how Marquese Chriss _ the No. 8 pick in 2016 _ has this season.
"There are very few players in the NBA that are going to be great no matter what," assistant general manager Kirk Lacob said. "A lot of them, it's about the right time, the right place, the right teammates, the right coach. We hope that a guy like Dragan, that this is the right spot for him."
Hours after signing the paperwork for his contract, Bender spent his warmup session going through a variety of pick-and-pop, pick-and-roll and dribble-handoff drills with assistant coaches. It's not a coincidence that his first Warriors points came off a pick-and-pop with guard Damion Lee, who finished the game with a team-high 22 points on 9-for-15 shooting, four rebounds and four assists.
Lee's 15 first-quarter points helped the Warriors get out to an early 11-point advantage before the Pelicans (25-32) used a 31-21 third quarter to take a lead they would not relinquish the rest of the way.
They were led by rookie sensation Zion Williamson, who finished with 28 points on 13-for-20 shooting.
These final games of this lottery-bound season for the Warriors, however, are less about wins and losses and more about player development and finding contributors for next season, when the team hopes to vault back into contention.
"We, at this point, are just trying to find players that can help us next year," Lacob said. "If we find a guy that really makes sense, then we'll do it. Otherwise, we'll keep looking."
Bender will have four more games to show that he can be a contributor. After that, the Warriors can either release him or sign him to another 10-day contract.
Though Bender has spent a majority of his career playing power forward, the Warriors view him as a center, and played him there during most of Sunday night's loss.
In an impressive first-quarter stint, Bender tipped a Williamson layup, grabbed multiple rebounds in traffic and contested guard JJ Redick's shot at the end of the quarter.
On a night when the Warriors were without Draymond Green (pelvic contusion) and Chriss (left calf soreness), the 7-foot, 225 pound 22-year-old did not look outmatched in the paint, though he did miss a few easy layup at the rim in what was an inefficient scoring night.
But those are the kinks the Warriors are hoping to remove from his game, while allowing him to lean into what it is he does well. Bender is clearly talented, but this may be his last good chance to stick in the NBA.
"We're really hopeful this is kind of coming together for him at the right time," Lacob said. "He's got 10 days to show us what he can do."
