Jonathan Bender Returns To NBA With New York Knicks

by Tom Lewis on Dec 13, 2009 1:31 PM EST in Indiana Pacers News

The New York Knicks announced today that they filled an open spot on their roster by signing former Pacers' lottery pick, Jonathan Bender.

All of the Knicks' players better tighten their kicks and be stretched and ready to go for the Knicks next practice, because we all know Bender is no joke in practice. Actually, I guess Bender's practice exploits while with the Pacers, always out of sight from the media, did become a joke so I figured I'd hit the punchline one more time.

All joking aside, though, I will be rooting like crazy to see JB make it back to the court for an NBA game. The minimal flashes of brilliance we saw from the 7-foot shooting guard always left fans wanting more as he began to mature. His knees just wouldn't allow it and eventually Bender retired playing in just 9 games over his final two seasons.

Now, nearly four years after announcing his retirement, and admitting that house jumping in his youth may have been a bad idea, Bender hopes his knees can hold up for another run on the NBA hardwood.

Me too. Good luck, JB!

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Comments

Good luck Bender!

by Rush Rules!!! on Dec 13, 2009 3:30 PM EST reply actions

Hopefully he’ll get a chance to play and not just ride the bench.

Good luck JB!

by Sparhawk on Dec 13, 2009 9:31 PM EST reply actions

Apparently the Hurricane Katrina PR worked ... he got a job

Did anyone else ever speak with the man? He was a joke, he never cared about playing.

He fleeced this city for 6 years, made $50mil and didn;t even try to get back on the court. He just quit, and now he’s back …. I wonder if all the money ran out?

With no education he only knew 1 way to make $ and that was to sit the bench.

This makes me sick.

by Man of Pace on Dec 14, 2009 12:05 PM EST reply actions

Here here.

It’s definately a move that is heavily overlooked as one of the biggests busts in Pacer history. For those of you who don’t remember, we traded one of the hardest working, top-notch personalities in Pacer history, Antonio Davis. Class-act guy that laid it out on the floor. So in 1999, Donnie decides to go in a youth move for trading Tony for the draft rights to Bender. It was a major gamble that did not pay off for us. The problem was, I’ve seen great moments out of Bender. Albeit, they didn’t come often, but they were there. If he had a good work ethic and stayed healthy, Donnie would have looked like a genius. He just forgot to hire a good coach when he hired Isiah Thomas. After that, my thoughts mirror Man of Pace’s.

by hoosier3060 on Dec 17, 2009 2:46 AM EST reply actions