Report: Bucks, Bender agree to 2-year deal

The Milwaukee Bucks signed power forward Dragan Bender to a two-year contract, league sources told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

Although the Phoenix Suns selected the 7-foot-1 Croatian No. 4 in the 2016 draft, Bender was never quite able to lock down a long-term role. In three seasons with the team, he averaged 5.3 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 1.2 assists in over 20.3 minutes per game.

Billed as a floor-spacer, Bender has shot just 32.1 percent on 3-pointers since the beginning of his NBA career. However, he has shown some signs of his potential; during the 2017-18 season, Bender connected on 36.6 percent of his long-range looks, shooting nearly four 3-pointers per game.

Bender could occupy the backup stretch-four role previously filled by last season's trade deadline acquisition Nikola Mirotic, who departed North America this offseason to join Spanish side Barcelona.