Golden State Warriors player impacted by Thompson’s return: Damion Lee
Damion Lee currently serves as the Warriors’ backup shooting guard. He’s having a career year with Golden State and has certainly deserved the minutes that he’s been given.
However, Thompson’s return will either force him to be the team’s third-string shooting guard or make small-ball lineups the Dubs’ regular lineup. With James Wiseman set to return and start in the near future, the former is more likely than the likely.
Lee is averaging 8.9 points per game and is shooting 44% from the field.
He’s hitting 35% of his threes and shooting over 90% from the free-throw line. He’s a liability defensively, but his offense, especially on the second unit, has been highly useful. Lee will be looking at reduced minutes when he returns. H
e’s at 21 minutes per game on the season and will likely see a decline but to what level is unknown. This will be a developing story, but I’d still expect to see Lee for about a quarter per game even Thompson forces him a level lower in the rotation.