Courtney Lee’s most prominent roles with the Mavericks have been burdensome salary accepted to get Kristaps Porzingis then tradable expiring contract.
But Lee started Dallas’ last four games before the season got suspended and could have filled a role as play resumes at Disney World.
Unfortunately, the shooting guard apparently suffered a calf injury and underwent surgery.
Marc Stein of The New York Times:
The Mavericks will be among the teams looking for roster reinforcements Tuesday when the NBA's one-week transaction window opens after veteran swingman Courtney Lee suffered a calf injury during the shutdown that required surgery, league sources say
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) June 22, 2020
Tim MacMahon of ESPN:
Source confirms @TheSteinLine report that Mavs SG Courtney Lee suffered a significant calf injury in a “freak accident.” Lee, a valued veteran presence, averaged 6.6 points on 50% FG in 22.8 minutes per game during March.
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) June 22, 2020
Bobby Marks of ESPN:
The proposed roster rules originally allowed teams to replace a player that was deemed out for the season with an injury. That is not the case with the new rules.
— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) June 22, 2020
The Mavericks have a full roster. However, they could open a spot by waiving Lee, who’s on an expiring contract. They’d lose his Bird Rights for the offseason, but those likely won’t matter, anyway. At 35 next offseason, Lee won’t command a high salary if Dallas wants him back.
The Mavericks have plenty of backcourt depth with Luka Doncic, Tim Hardaway Jr., Seth Curry, Delon Wright and J.J. Barea. Dallas coach Rick Carlisle likes using two-point guard lineups.
So, the Mavericks should get by. They just lose some optionality, especially with Dwight Powell and Jalen Brunson also injured.