Lee undrafted, yet undaunted in pursuit of dream
Marcus Lee didn’t get picked during Thursday’s NBA draft, and the Cal power forward might have been the last to know.
The 6-foot-11, 255-pounder didn’t watch the draft or track the three-hour event on his phone.
He had a very different plan.
“My thinking: ‘I’ll be at Haas Pavilion working out,’ ” Lee said. “I don’t want to hear anything about the draft. I don’t want to deal with it. It’ll be there when I’m done working out.
“The best thing I can do is be in the gym, the place that I love the most and the place that got me here.”
Lee put himself through a grueling training regimen and some whirlwind travel during the three-month, pre-draft process to chase his dream of playing in the NBA, and he promises that will continue as his focus shifts from being drafted to finding a summerleague opportunity.
“I’m looking for a job. I need to pay rent,” Lee said. “Either I get this job, or I’m living on the streets. That’s the way I’m feeling right now.”
Five years ago, when Lee was a five-star recruit out of Deer Valley-Antioch, he seemed destined to be a firstround choice. After limited production in three seasons at Kentucky (averaging 3.9 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.0 blocked shots in 100 games) and a senior season at Cal that failed to draw scouting raves (11.4 points and 7.2 rebounds per game), Lee knows he’s fighting an uphill battle.
“For me, it wasn’t about moving up the draft boards. I was trying to get on the draft boards,” said Lee, who turns 24 in September. The first senior wasn’t selected Thursday until Utah drafted Duke’s Grayson Allen at No. 21. “But summer league is still a chance to battle. I have no idea what’s happening, but I’m excited for the opportunity to battle.
“The summer league is a chance to show why I should have been picked.”
Lee has been trying to make that case for months. He averaged 10 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.3 blocked shots at April’s Portsmouth Invitational, and he was able to land pre-draft workouts with Toronto and the Lakers.
He would have worked out for Phoenix, too — if it weren’t for travel issues.
“The pre-draft process is a love-hate relationship,” Lee said. “I’m exhausted. My body hurts. I feel the stress, but it’s exciting. I’m loving it. I’m excited I even have the chance to do this.
“It’s really cool to do something like this at this moment.”
Lee said he’ll consider playing overseas or in the NBA’s G League, if it comes to that, but he has a skill set that should get some attention in the summer. His athleticism and length allow him to switch on pick-and-rolls and defend multiple positions — coveted skills in the increasingly positionless NBA.
“I feel like the game is definitely being molded to people like me, people like (the Warriors’) Jordan Bell,” Lee said. “Positions are becoming obsolete. If you can play only one position, they don’t really want you. But if you can guard every position, you’re a high commodity.
“That’s what I’ve been trying to show: I can guard 1 to 5.”
Lee was a candidate for the Senior CLASS Award, an honor given to student-athletes who stay in school and use their platform to make a positive impact in their communities. He served pancake breakfasts to older people, attended Children’s Hospital Oakland’s holiday party and organized a team visit to the Laguna Honda Hospital.
He’ll have plenty of job options waiting when he’s ready, but for now Lee is lasered in on continuing his basketball career.
“I’m the kind of person who loves having a plan, a backup plan and a backup to the backup plan, but with this, I feel like I need to be all-in,” Lee said. “This is the only plan. If it doesn’t work, I’ll figure it out, but it’s the only thing I’m thinking about right now.
“There are a lot of things I want to do after basketball, but while this is going on, this has to be my only thoughts, my only expectations, my only dreams and my only focus. When you’re trying to do something this important and this intense, it has to be your only focus.”