The Suns sign one former Pistons guard and waive another
UPDATE: Since the writing of this, Saben Lee has been released from the Suns, so it was short lived. It has been a weird offseason for free agency, and that includes a few former Detroit Pistons.
There have been several notable free agents available all offseason, including future Hall-of-Famers like Carmelo Anthony and Dwight Howard, who are still looking for jobs with less than a week to go until the regular season.
And there has also been a whole lot of movement at the back ends of rosters, as teams try to juggle two-way and G-League contracts to find guys who might be able to contribute on their full time rosters, often signing guys and then waiving them a day later.
We also have veterans like Kemba Walker refusing buyouts, hoping to find a team that will sign them before giving back any of the money they are owed. I think we’ll see all of these things addressed in the next collective bargaining agreement, as contracts are kind of pointless if teams and players can just break them with impunity.
Two former Detroit Pistons have bounced around this offseason, as Detroit neglected to pick up the option on guard Frank Jackson and traded former second-round pick Saben Lee to the Utah Jazz as part of the Bojan Bogdanovic trade.
The two crossed paths recently coming and going from the Phoenix Suns.
The Suns sign and release two former Detroit Pistons
Earlier in the offseason, the Suns signed Frank Jackson and I thought that it might be a good situation for him, as the Suns lack guard depth and he can play both spots.
But that didn’t last long, as it was announced yesterday that Jackson has been released in favor of another former Piston, Saben Lee, who was released by the Utah Jazz.
Saben Lee was the king of the G-League last season but was never able to get a foothold in the Pistons’ rotation.
Like Jackson, Lee could just be another body to throw into the preseason, or a guy the Suns would like to keep in their G-League pipeline as a “break in case of emergency” guard. Lee is from Arizona, so will be returning to his home state, at least for now.
I wish both of them well in their quest to find a full-time job in the NBA, but both Jackson and Lee may have to work their way in from the G-League.