Golden State Warriors: Breaking down the re-signing of Damion Lee
By Justin Fried
The Golden State Warriors have officially re-signed shooting guard Damion Lee to a two-way contract. Here is a brief breakdown of the late-July move.
The Golden State Warriors roster appears to be completely finalized after the team’s re-signing of guard Damion Lee. Lee will be brought back on a two-way contract after spending time last season split between the G-League and the Warriors roster.
And with his contract remaining the same, expect a similar thing to happen this year.
The Warriors initially had their two two-way contracts locked up after signing undrafted Boston College product Ky Bowman last week. However, the team opted to release small forward Julian Washburn a couple of weeks ago leaving another spot open.
Washburn was acquired from the Memphis Grizzlies in the Andre Iguodala trade and even though he initially stuck on with the Warriors, it was clear that he wasn’t long for the roster.
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And once Washburn was released, rumors of Lee’s possible return to Golden State ran rampant.
After all, Lee maintains a very close connection with the team as he is star point guard Stephen Curry‘s brother-in-law. A potential return made all the sense in the world making it more of a foregone conclusion that he would be back once the roster spot opened up.
Not to mention the fact that Lee actually impressed a bit with the team last season.
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While he didn’t receive much playing time averaging just 11.7 minutes per game in 32 contests, the Louisville product showed glimpses of his outside shooting ability.
Lee shot an impressive 39.7% from three-point range in his limited playing time with Golden State and shot an equally outstanding 39.8% in 24 starts down with the Santa Cruz Warriors in the G-League.
And it’s that shooting ability that could really draw the Warriors interest this season.
With star shooting guard Klay Thompson out for most of the season rehabbing a torn ACL suffered in the team’s final game of the season, the Warriors could desperately use some sharpshooters on the wing.
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The team drafted Michigan guard Jordan Poole and signed oft-injured veteran Alec Burks to help solidify the team’s wing depth. However, the competition is wide open to see which player emerges as the primary backup shooting guard option.
Lee will be limited to just 45 days up with the Warriors because of his two-way contract. But if he impresses enough, Golden State might just be forced to make a roster move and sign him to a fully-guaranteed contract.
After missing out on the team’s playoff roster last season, Lee will undoubtedly be looking to make a bigger impact this season. And given the abundance of turnover facing the Warriors roster, he should be given every opportunity to do so.
If Lee could continue to develop his all-around game and impress during his time in Golden State, the 26-year-old could very well earn a regular-season contract with the club next season. If not, he could hopefully at least add some depth on the wing in the short term.
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Now, with the Warriors roster finally finalized, the fall can’t get here any sooner.