He might not be a first-round pick like his three draftmates, but Saben Lee more than showed he could be a part of the future for the Detroit Pistons. The Pistons agreed, and reached a deal to bring Lee back on a three-year deal. The deal was first reported by Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN and later confirmed by James L. Edwards III of The Athletic and Omari Sankofa of the Detroit Free Press.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Lee was the 38th overall pick in the 2020 Draft out of Vanderbilt and averaged 5.6 points in 48 games as a Pistons rookie. Another of Troy Weaver’s promising young draft picks.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) August 4, 2021
Lee is a member of what the Pistons called the “Core Four” last season — joining lottery pick Killian Hayes and All-Rookie members Isaiah Stewart and Saddiq Bey.
Lee appeared in 48 games including seven starts during his rookie season and more than held his own on the court. He averaged 5.6 points and 3.6 assists compared to just 1.1 turnovers.
The Pistons will likely use him as a third point guard and give Lee plenty of playing time with the Motor City Cruise during the G League team’s inaugural season.
While Lee’s jump shot is certainly a work in progress, he has the ability to use both his athleticism and a high-level court awareness to penetrate the defense and force defenders to overcommit to open up passing lanes.
We took a closer look at Lee’s game in our Exit interview series, and DBB’s Bryce Simon broke down his game with a pair of videos.