Getty Damion Lee looks to make a pass in a game against the Phoenix Suns.
The Golden State Warriors have a decision to make on one of the fixtures of their second unit.
Guard Damion Lee has a $500,000 contract guarantee that would kick in on Sunday, and while the Warriors had yet to make a final decision, an insider believes that Lee’s roster spot will be safe — and his role on the team could be growing.
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Lee Expected to Return
As Anthony Slater of The Athletic reported, Golden State’s roster is as close to set-in-stone as possible, with Lee slated in for one of the final spots.
“The Warriors have locked in 14 guaranteed roster spots. Damion Lee has a $500k guarantee on Sunday, but he’s safe, per a source. He’s one of the 14. Bob Myers said they’ll likely leave the 15th vacancy for a training camp battle to presumably include Mulder/Payton/others,” he tweeted.
Lee was one of the best shooters on Golden State’s second unit, making 39.7% of his three-pointers while contributing 6.5 points and 3.2 rebounds per game. The team could look to Lee for more than shooting next season. NBC Sports Bay Area’s Alex Didion noted that with the team’s infusion of youth, the 28-year-old veteran who just wrapped up his third season with Golden State could provide some much-needed leadership.
“Lee has proven himself to be a capable reserve in the NBA, and his combination of shooting and defensive ability on the wing could be important early on as the Warriors work Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody into action,” he wrote.
Lee has some other strong connections to the franchise. He’s married to Steph Curry’s sister, Sydel, and the couple announced in June that they are expecting their first child together.
No More Moves To Make
After reports that the Warriors were interested in landing another star player — with reports linking them to Bradley Beal and Damian Lillard — general manager Bob Myers said this week that trade talks are “dormant at this moment in time,” Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle noted.
The Warriors have already made some moves, signing point guard Chris Chiozza on a two-way contract along with veteran center/power forward Nemanja Bjelica and wings Andre Iguodala and Otto Porter Jr. But as Simmons noted, the team has trended more toward youth this offseason. The team opted to hold onto both lottery picks, taking Kuminga and Moody. Both rookies have looked sharp through the first week of Summer League games, and project to play with Lee on the second unit.
Jonathan Kuminga’s summer league signature highlight to this point
Myers said the days of the Warriors being perennial title favorites and scooping up the best available veterans who wanted to chase a title are gone.
“That was a moment in time, but now there’s good, healthy competition,” Myers said, via the San Francisco Chronicle. “We were the favorites, and we got first crack at these people. … People pick up the phone when we call; they talk to us, they think about us. You win some ties and you lose some. But to think it’s going to be like that, it’s probably not going to be like that.
“That was a rare moment in time.”
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