Damion Lee, who came off the bench for the Suns last season and was going to be in a fight for minutes and to retain that role this season, has suffered a setback that will sideline him for at least a month.
Lee underwent meniscus repair surgery for his right knee, the Suns announced. The injury occurred during a workout at the Suns’ practice facility before the start of training camp.
The Suns did not announce a timeline for Lee’s recovery, but their saying it was a repair suggests the process will take longer — at least six weeks but possibly months, depending on details we don’t know — but is considered better for the knee long term.
Lee signed a two-year contract this summer, at the league minimum, to stay with the Suns. The second year of that is a player option, making it unlikely the Suns cut him (they do have to make a couple of cuts before opening night, they currently have 17 on the roster). Last season, Lee averaged 8.2 points a game and shot 44.5% from 3, playing in 74 games. However, after the trade deadline and the addition of Kevin Durant among others, Lee’s minutes dropped by almost 10 a game (to 13 minutes a night). This season Bradley Beal and Devin Booker will start in the backcourt and get heavy minutes, with Grayson Allen, Eric Gordon and Saben Lee also in the mix for minutes.
And Damion Lee, once he gets healthy again.
