What to expect from the Suns forgotten about player

With the benefit of hindsight, it is hard to see how last season could have gone much better for the Phoenix Suns. They won 49 games and got fantastic years out of both Devin Booker and Kevin Durant. The team was even above average on the defensive end, which nobody saw coming.

The wheels did come off in the postseason - and head coach Frank Vogel ultimately paid the price - but with no depth and Bradley Beal limited to just 53 regular season games, was it ever going to go any differently? That organization did address their depth issues this offseason, but the most immediate help might come from within.

That would be Damion Lee, who is finally healthy and ready to help the Suns win.

You'd be forgiven for forgetting about Lee entirely last season. He didn't appear as a result of a meniscus injury that did require surgery, and the addition of Beal overshadowed everything else. By the turn of the calendar year, even the likes of Bol Bol were eating up the minutes that Lee left behind while on the treatment table.

His time away from the court as he battled back from injury was something he opened up about back in April, but he figures to be back in the mix when the Suns tip-off preseason action next month. Despite not yet even being thought about as somebody who could crack their second unit consistently, there's reason to believe he can actually help.

In only 74 regular season games in The Valley, Lee has shot a ridiculous 44.5 percent on over three attempts per game from beyond the arc. Not quite his brother-in-law Stephen Curry numbers, but enough to believe he can begin to claw back some of those lost minutes through his shooting alone.

Lee will have never played with the trio of Booker, Durant and Beal - and perhaps never will given the depth now in Phoenix - but it is comforting to know that he has the ability to make a long-range shot given he'll likely be playing in more space than he ever has before. Grayson Allen led the league in Phoenix in 3-point shooting and had a career year last season, which means Lee also could improve.

Another interesting wrinkle here is the battle that could now take place between Monte Morris and Lee for a backup role here. Morris was an excellent get this summer - until the Suns went one better and signed Tuys Jones - which leaves him undoubtedly as the backup floor general. Lee can also handle the ball some, but is more comfortable at the two-guard spot.

So it may be that Morris falls through the cracks because the Suns can't play a true point guard - plus Booker and Beal - for all 48 minutes of a game. Lee offers a solution in that he can play without the ball, is able to take the rock for periods of a possession and not panic, and is also an above average 3-point shooter.

Even if Lee could manage to hold steady on the 8.2 points he's managed with the Suns so far, while upping his assists slightly to something like 2.5 (1.3 per game to date), he will give new head coach Mike Budenholzer something to think about. He's familiar with Booker and has a skill set that has its uses, which will ensure Damion Lee isn't forgotten about much longer.