Saben Lee reacts to joining Sixers, Doc Rivers discusses his 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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