Western Notes: Lee, Billups, Wembanyama, Paul

After being sidelined all of last season due to a right knee injury, Suns guard Damion Lee expects to play a limited role in the early going, according to the Arizona Republic’s Duane Rankin. “I don’t anticipate or expect myself to come out early in the season and play 30 minutes a game,” Lee said. “I know what I do. I know what my role is and when the time comes for me to out there and contribute, then I will and I’ll try to do it to the best of my abilities.” Lee appeared in 74 games for Phoenix in 2022/23, averaging 8.2 points in 20.4 minutes.

We have more from the Western Conference:

• Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups will be inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame next weekend. Billups, the Final MVP with the Pistons in 2004, was in a state of disbelief when he got the call that he had been elected, in part because of the timing. “(When the Hall) actually called, they picked a (heck) of a day. It was April Fool’s. It was on April 1,” Billups told the Denver Post’s Sean Keeler. “So when they called, I just kept saying, ‘If y’all are playing this sick joke on me, man, I’m never speaking to any of y’all again. That’s the worst.’”
• Victor Wembanyama and Chris Paul are among the Spurs who won’t suit up for their preseason game against Oklahoma City on Monday, Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio Express News writes. There are no injury concerns — San Antonio is simply easing its stars into the preseason schedule. Both participated in all five practices last week, Orsborn notes.
• Wembanyama worked on his ballhanding and moves with longtime NBA guard Jamal Crawford this offseason, Orsborn reports in a separate story. The Spurs big man believes that work will pay off this season. “It was my first time working for a long period of time with an actual retired NBA player,” Wembanyama said. “I learned a lot because the view he has of the game is different from a coach’s because he understands the player maybe more than any coaches I have worked with before. It was a great experience. I would do it again.”