Suns sign G League guard Saben Lee to 10-day contract
Jan 11, 2023, 3:31 PM | Updated: 3:53 pm
Saben Lee #38 of the Detroit Pistons drives against Colbey Ross #46 of the Portland Trail Blazers during the 2022 NBA Summer League at the Thomas & Mack Center on July 07, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
(Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
The Phoenix Suns signed G League Raptors 905 guard Saben Lee to a 10-day contract on Wednesday, the team announced.
The Athletic’s Shams Charania was first to report the news..
The move comes amid major injury issues for the Suns, playing in a back-to-back on Wednesday after having nine available players against the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday.
Phoenix’s Duane Washington Jr. was the only available guard for the team.
“He can defend,” James Jones told Burns & Gambo on Wednesday. “He picks up 94 feet and can push the pace. He’s a guy that gets paint touches and puts pressure on the defense while getting us into early offense.
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“We felt like we needed someone to get us out in transition, someone that could get us some easy baskets and help us manufacture steals and turnovers.”
Lee played in 87 games over his three seasons in the NBA, averaging 5.5 points per game on 43.7% shooting, 3.3 assists and 2.1 rebounds. Eighty-five of these games came over his first two seasons with the Detroit Pistons.
Detroit traded Lee with Kelly Olynyk to the Utah Jazz in exchange for Bojan Bogdanovic in September and Lee was waived by the Jazz in training camp before the year.
This year, Lee has bounced around the G League with the Raptors 905, Delaware Blue Coats and then back to the 905. He also played in two games in the NBA in 2022 with the Philadelphia 76ers.
Lee was signed to the Suns in October and played one preseason game, posting nine points, three assists and one rebound in 14 minutes played.
In 15 games in the G League this season, he’s averaging 23.3 points per game on 53.1% shooting, 6.4 assists and 4.7 rebounds.
He was waived less than a week later due to regular season roster cuts.
He was taken 38th overall in the second round of the 2020 NBA Draft out of Vanderbilt. He is familiar with the Valley, playing his high school ball at Tempe’s Corona Del Sol alongside former first-round pick Marvin Bagley in 2014-15.
At Vanderbilt, the 6-foot-2 guard averaged 13.9 points on 47.1% shooting, 3.7 assists and 3.3 rebounds over his three years.
The Suns are back in action on the road Wednesday against the Denver Nuggets at 8 p.m. on 98.7, the Arizona Sports app and ArizonaSports.com.
