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According to a report from Connor Letourneau of the San Francisco Chronicle, the Golden State Warriors offered shooting guard Damion Lee a two-way contract earlier in the offseason. Lee has yet to make a decision as to whether or not to sign the contract, as he waits to see if he’ll get a roster spot on another team.
Been getting a lot of questions about Damion Lee. Warriors offered him a two-way contract, but he has yet to accept as he waits to see if he can land a guaranteed spot somewhere. That last two-way contract is the final roster decision facing Golden State.
— Connor Letourneau (@Con_Chron) July 11, 2019
It initially seemed like the Warriors would sign Lee, who was on a two-way contract with the team last year, to a roster spot. But due to the sign and trade for D’Angelo Russell, the Warriors ended up hard-capped. They now have 14 of their 15 roster spots filled, but they don’t have the money to sign anyone to the 15th spot.
Lee clearly still has connections to the Warriors, beyond just being the brother-in-law of Steph Curry. He has been in Las Vegas while the team is at Summer League, and has sat courtside with Warriors executives at numerous games this week.
Damion Lee is once again sitting courtside for the Warriors SL game, alongside D'Angelo Russell, Bob Myers, and Joe Lacob.
— Brady Klopfer (@BradyKlopferNBA) July 9, 2019
With Alec Burks signing, the Warriors can't sign Lee unless it's to a two-way (or if there's an outgoing player). But it would seem there's a plan here.
The Warriors currently have both of their two-way spots filled. They signed undrafted rookie Ky Bowman to a two-way at the start of free agency, and acquired Julian Washburn, who is on such a contract, from the Memphis Grizzlies in the Andre Iguodala trade.
That said, it’s unclear if the Warriors are actually interested in Washburn, who was likely added to the trade just to facilitate it. And two-way contracts can be waived without impacting the team’s cap situation, so the Warriors can let Washburn go at any moment if Lee decides he’d like to return to the Warriors.
In 32 games with the Warriors last year, Lee averaged 4.9 points and 2.0 rebounds in 11.7 minutes per night. He shot 39.7% from three-point range.