I'd like to be happy Jonathan Bender is attempting a comeback with the New York Knicks after three years away from the game. I'd like to be inspired by his perseverance and determination. But instead, I feel a familiar sense of dread.
Don't get me wrong. I've always liked J.B. and felt he was unfairly criticized for reasons beyond his control. He had bad knees. No, he had terrible knees that kept his career from ever really getting off the ground and forced him into retirement in 2006 at the frustratingly young age of 25.
Once the knees go, the basketball career goes, no matter how much talent, heart or will remains in the rest of the anatomy. Just ask Steve Stipanovich. Or Clark Kellogg.
Nevertheless, when the Knicks flew back from a game in New Orleans, their charter flight had an additional passenger. Donnie Walsh reached into his past and offered a second chance to the player he acquired with the No. 5 pick in the 1999 NBA Draft in a trade that sent Antonio Davis to Toronto.
"Jonathan has worked extremely hard in preparing himself for a return to the NBA," said Walsh in a statement released by the Knicks. "I know him to be a young man of the highest character from my relationship with him that dates back 10 years to his rookie year and I think he will be a fine addition to our team both on and off the court."
A native of Picayune, Miss., Bender has spent the past three years doing charity work through his foundation in the New Orleans area, helping fund programs at elementary schools and rehabilitating distressed real estate for victims of Hurricane Katrina. He also has been working out regularly.
When he felt he was ready, he called Walsh, who signed Bender to a contract over the weekend.
"When I came out of the NBA, the plan was to come straight into rehab," Bender told The New York Times. "Rest for a minute, rest for at least a year and go straight into rehab and try it again at some point. I couldn’t live to be 38, 39 years old saying I at least didn’t try again.
"When you do something your whole life and it comes to an end all of a sudden, you’ve got to accept it. I wasn’t down on myself, but I knew I was never going to stop. I knew I was going to try again."
Bender is still just 28 years old but hasn't played in an NBA game in more than four years (Nov. 5, 2005).
I'm not sure which he needs more: to play in the NBA again or to finally bring closure to that chapter of his life. I hope he gets it, either way.
Bad breaks for ex-Pacers Daniels, Diogu
While we're on the subject of former Pacers and injuries …
Marquis Daniels had surgery last Wednesday on a torn ligament in his left thumb and he is likely to miss two months.
Daniels, averaging 5.7 points and 2.1 assists in 19 games with the Celtics, had been playing with the injury but opted to have the surgery so he could be back to full strength for the stretch run. He should be back around the All-Star break.
Ike Diogu, on the other hand, won't be back until next summer at the earliest. He will undergo microfracture surgery on his left knee Tuesday and could be out up to 12 months.
Diogu, who was dealt from the Pacers to Portland (along with Jerryd Bayless) in the deal that brought Brandon Rush, Josh McRoberts and Jarrett Jack to Indiana, finished last season with Sacramento, racking up 60 points and 24 rebounds in the final two games.
The Hornets signed him with the idea of making him their primary backup big man but he has not played.
"Some people can come back from it in seven to eight months. For other people, it might take them longer," Diogu told Hornets.com. "The target date for me now is July for me to be able to fully (play), with no restrictions. But everyone’s body is different. It could be later than that, or it could be sooner."
Diogu's contract expires on July 1.
