Tag: Saben Lee

Former Sixers two-way guard Saben Lee lands deal with Raptors 905

Former Philadelphia 76ers two-way guard Saben Lee has landed a new home with Raptors 905 in the G League.

The Philadelphia 76ers recently signed a new two-way player in the form of Louis King as they continue to nail down the right roster pieces for the 2022-23 season. King was having a terrific season with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers averaging 20.1 points, 4.4 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 1.4 steals in 18 games.

In the process, to make room for King, the Sixers had to waive Saben Lee who Philadelphia signed to a two-way deal in November. Lee played two games for the Sixers and averaged 3.0 points and 1.0 assists in those games.

After being waived, Lee has now landed with Raptors 905 per Albert De Roa of HoopsHype. Lee was with Raptors 905 earlier in the season before the sixers brought him in. At the time of his signing, Philadelphia was missing James Harden and Tyrese Maxey to injury, but with Harden back in the fold and Maxey expected to return on Friday, there wasn’t a huge need for Lee anymore.

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Saben Lee reacts to joining Sixers, Doc Rivers discusses his addition

Saben Lee reacted to joining the Philadelphia 76ers while Doc Rivers gave his thoughts on the new addition.

ORLANDO–The Philadelphia 76ers recently made a move on Tuesday when they brought in 2-year guard Saben Lee on a two-way deal. The Sixers waived Michael Foster Jr. in the process to make room for the guard who has two years of NBA experience with the Detroit Pistons under his belt.

Lee officially joined the team in Orlando on Friday before Philadelphia’s matchup with the Magic and he gave his thoughts on joining the Sixers before tipoff from the Amway Center.

“I was ecstatic,” said Lee when he heard the news. “I was really happy, excited for it, I was excited to get out here and get to work so I was really grateful for the opportunity.”

Considering the Sixers are down both James Harden and Tyrese Maxey at the moment and De’Anthony Melton is still dealing with a back injury and he’s toughing it out, Philadelphia wanted to bring in another guard who can handle the ball out on the floor.

“I watched an hour of film (of Lee) so you may have watched more,” said coach Doc Rivers. “We just needed another guard. De’Anthony is not 100% so he’s a step away from us down to two guards on our team as far as ball-handling guards so we just needed another guard.”

When asked if Lee could be thrown into the fire on Friday, Rivers said that is “absolutely in play” for Philadelphia.

Lee, who averaged 5.6 points and 3.3 assists in 85 games with seven starts in Detroit, discussed possibly being thrown out there against the Magic despite literally showing up to the arena about an hour before the 7 p.m. EST tipoff.

“Just working out and being ready basketball-wise,” Lee said. “Obviously, not knowing a lot of the plays and sets, but just being ready to contribute the way I can defensively and the offense will take care of the rest.”

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Sixers to sign Saben Lee to two-way deal, waive Michael Foster Jr.

The Philadelphia 76ers will sign Saben Lee to a deal and they will waive Michael Foster Jr. to make room for him.

The Philadelphia 76ers are coming off an impressive win over the Brooklyn Nets in a game they played without their three best players and then lost a key rotational piece in the second half.

After the game, the Sixers made a minor roster move. They waived one of their two-way players, rookie Michael Foster Jr., and they signed Saben Lee. The guard out of Vanderbilt spent his first two seasons with the Detroit Pistons; he averaged 5.6 points and 3.3 assists in 85 games with seven starts in Detroit.

Lee was traded to the Utah Jazz in the Bojan Bogdanovic deal in the offseason before he was then waived. He looks to make an impact with the Sixers after two nondescript seasons in Detroit.

Considering the Sixers are down so many ballhandlers, bringing in Lee makes sense. It will be interesting to see if he’s with the team when the Sixers face the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday.

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Bojan Bogdanovic trade grades: Who won the deal between the Pistons and the Jazz?

The Pistons got a bit better and the Jazz (willingly) got A LOT worse

Well, folks. We have a trade. It is absolutely not the trade you were looking for today, but it is a trade nonetheless.

The Utah Jazz are continuing their complete makeover in tearing their team down to the studs to get ready for their campaign in the Victor Wembanyama sweepstakes. They’ve reportedly traded Bojan Bogdanovic to the Detroit Pistons for Kelly Olynyk and Saben Lee, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Again, this isn’t the Kevin Durant or Donovan Mitchell-sized move people had been looking for this offseason. But it might shake up the bottom of the Eastern Conference quite a bit.

Let’s dive into these trade grades.

Las Vegas Summer League: Lakers lose to Pistons in Game 4

The Los Angeles Lakers fell to the Detroit Pistons in Game 4 of the Las Vegas Summer League.

The Los Angeles Lakers took on the Detroit Pistons in Game 4 of the Las Vegas Summer League but lost, 103-86.

The main star of the night, Cade Cunningham, didn’t feature in this game, but the Pistons received major production from their second-round draft pick last year in Saben Lee.

Lee was a major catalyst in the early stages of the third quarter that saw Detroit’s lead balloon, as the Pistons once held a 17-point lead, the largest of the game.

Lee couldn’t be stopped from the perimeter or when attacking the basket as he finished with 22 points on 8-of-16 shooting to lead all scorers. Luke Garza, a 2021 second-round pick for Detroit, added 20 points and 14 rebounds.

The Lakers didn’t play the trio of Vic Law, Justin Robinson and Yoeli Childs, three players who have been either starting or playing a key role off the bench.

Jordan Floyd led the Lakers in scoring as he dropped 16 points in 15 minutes off the bench to go with five assists and three steals. Tres Tinkle was second in scoring for L.A. with 13 points as he got the starting nod in place of Law.

Chaundee Brown scored 10 points off the bench on 4-of-6 shooting to go with three rebounds, two assists and a steal. Austin Reaves scored nine at the point guard spot while backcourt partner Joel Ayayi chipped in seven points, six rebounds and two assists.

Mac McClung had another quiet shooting night, going 1-of-5 for three total points and four assists.

With a 2-2 record after four games, the Lakers will not be competing in the Summer League championship game.

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Rookie Wire Power Rankings: LaMelo Ball once again reigns supreme

Rookie Wire takes a look at the top first-year players over the last two weeks of the 2020-21 season.

With the NBA All-Star break nearly upon us, the first half of the season is in the books for most teams as the week off will provide an essential rest period for players.

Over the course of the first half of the season, several rookies have made strong contributions on a consistent basis and have emerged as some of the top players of the class. Others, seemingly have come on strong recently and are playing well in expanded roles.

To make sense of it all, we took a look at the best recent performances of these first-year players and ranked them in the latest edition of the Rookie Wire Power Rankings. The rankings are not for Rookie of the Year purposes but, rather, to illustrate the best players week to week.

Pistons present Saben Lee with game ball after career performance

Just two nights after scoring a career-high, Lee turned in yet another memorable performance, this time in a winning effort over the Magic.

Just two nights after scoring a career-high 12 points, Saben Lee turned in yet another memorable performance, this time in a winning effort over the Orlando Magic.

Lee produced a career-high 21 points, four assists, three rebounds and two steals to lead the Pistons to a 105-93 win to split a pair of road games in Orlando. He converted on 8-of-11 shots from the field, while draining all three of his 3-point attempts in 29 minutes of work.

“He is not your typical rookie,” Pistons head coach Dwane Casey said. “He came from a professional background, his dad went through the NFL so he has been around pro sports. He is not caught up in the bright, deer in the headlights-type of situation. He is not overwhelmed by the NBA or the excitement of the NBA. That in itself carries something. He is a very intelligent young man.”

With Delon Wright out at least two weeks with a groin strain, the Pistons have been forced to shuffle their point guard rotation. The team has started the newly-acquired Dennis Smith Jr. but Lee has flourished in two games off the bench.

The career night even earned Lee the game ball from his team.

“It was a great feeling, just having my teammates there congratulating me,” Lee said. “Coach Casey gave me the game ball so it was definitely a moment I’m going to remember and happy to experience.”

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The Pistons believe Lee can have a bright future with the team. Injuries have opened the door and the 38th overall pick certainly feels as though he can contribute at a high level. He had the luxury of learning from Derrick Rose this season, and is confident he can step in with Rose gone.

Detroit is certainly building toward the future and has shown its potential in spurts. The team may not be winning very many games, but the future of the team appears to be in good hands.

This post originally appeared on Rookie Wire! Follow us on Facebook!

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Pistons’ Saben Lee goes off for career-high in loss to Magic

With Delon Wright out, Saben Lee stepped up on Sunday and produced a career-high in a loss to the Magic.

Saben Lee had only logged eight appearances with the Detroit Pistons prior to Sunday, but that didn’t stop the rookie from producing a career-high in his first extended run of the season in a loss to the Orlando Magic.

With Delon Wright out at least two weeks with a groin strain, the Pistons were forced to shuffle their point guard rotation a bit. While newly-acquired Dennis Smith Jr. earned the start, Lee played the majority of the game for the first time this season.

In 32 minutes of work, Lee recorded a career-high 12 points, five assists, four rebounds and three steals in the 105-96 loss. He converted on 4-of-7 attempts from the field and finished a plus-three on the court, the best mark on the team.

Perhaps most impressive, Lee looked the part. He seemingly showed no signs of being a first-year player, and may have earned himself a larger role moving forward as a result.

“He did everything we asked him to do,” head coach Dwane Casey said. “He distributed the basketball, defended his butt off. (He is) hungry. He kept the pace. We needed it to be. He found people in the kick-outs. We didn’t do a good job of knocking down shots but we had some great looks. … He is a competitor, he is tough. He just set the tone. The whole game, the whole complexion of the game changed when he came in.”

Lee offered a glimpse of his potential on Sunday and it served as yet another strong performance by a Pistons rookie this season. Including Lee, the team has three other rookies in the fold and each has had moments this season on the court.

The Pistons are certainly building toward the future and the team has shown its potential in spurts. The team may not be winning many games, but the future of the team appears to be in good hands.

This post originally appeared on Rookie Wire! Follow us on Facebook!

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Pistons sign No. 7 pick Killian Hayes, others to rookie contracts

The Pistons on Monday night announced that they signed four rookie players to contracts.

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With training camp set to begin this week ahead of the 2020-21 season, the Detroit Pistons on Monday announced they signed four rookie players to contracts, including No. 7 overall pick Killian Hayes.

In addition to Hayes, the organization signed first-round picks Isaiah Stewart (No. 16 overall) and Saddiq Bey (No. 19) and second-round pick Saben Lee (No. 38). The terms for Lee are not yet known, but he could be on a two-way deal.

Hayes became the highest-drafted player from France when the Pistons selected him seventh overall. He boasts prior professional experience after playing in France with Cholet before joining ratiopharm Ulm in Germany last season, where he averaged 11.6 points, 3.2 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 1.4 steals in 20 games.

Meanwhile, Stewart was named to the All-Pac-12 First Team last season after averaging 17 points, 8.8 rebounds and 2.1 blocks at Washington. He established himself as one of the best defenders in the country and has said he studied Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo extensively prior to the draft.

Bey averaged 16.1 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 31 games played last season at Villanova. He shot 47.7% from the field, including a staggering 45.1% from 3-point range on 5.6 attempts per game. He proved an excellent catch-and-shoot threat and has been touted for his basketball IQ and defensive versatility.

Finally, Lee earned All-SEC Second Team honors last season after averaging 18.6 points, 4.2 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 1.5 steals in 32 games as a junior at Vanderbilt. He proved a versatile scorer on offense and was very successful at drawing contact and earning trips to the free-throw line, where he was a 71.8% career shooter.

The Pistons made a flurry of roster moves in the offseason under new general manager Troy Weaver. The organization is certainly building toward the future, but it also added free agent Jerami Grant into the mix next to Blake Griffin and others.

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2020 NBA Draft Big Board 5.0: Final update ranking Top 100 prospects

After numerous delays and postponements, front offices and draftniks have had more time to analyze the 2020 NBA draft than any previous year.

After numerous delays and postponements, front offices and draftniks have had more time to analyze the 2020 NBA draft than any previous year.

Originally scheduled for June, the ongoing pandemic pushed the big night back by five months. While this may cause some teams to overthink their decisions, it gave analysts plenty of time to study all of the top prospects eligible in this class.

This year, players had to participate in a mostly virtual pre-draft process. On the bright side, this meant that teams had the opportunity to interview more candidates than ever before.

However, the number of in-person visits were incredibly limited due to the restrictive parameters set by the league. Similarly, the NBA draft combine was conducted without the typical scrimmages where players can separate themselves from the others with impressive on-court performances.

Overall, the players that stood out in this pre-draft process had a different path to recognition than any other year. College basketball players did not have the opportunity to showcase themselves during March Madness. The nation’s top seniors did not get to participate in the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament.

As such, executives will rely mostly on the existing game footage as well as the intel they gathered during their conversations with the prospects. We also depended on similar strategies, getting access to one-on-one interviews with more than three dozen prospects and exchanging our thoughts with various scouts across the league.

This helped us put together our final big board, looking at the Top 100 players ranked on their potential to make a difference for teams in the NBA.

Relevant statistics were pulled from Synergy Sports Tech, Bart-Torvik, KenPom, Open Look Analytics and RealGM. Note that the age listed for each player references how old they will be on the night of the draft.