Former Florida guard Xaivian Lee is headed to Gonzaga after a brief run through the professional ranks.
Lee, who went unselected in the 2026 NBA Draft, spent part of the summer with the Cleveland Cavaliers in NBA Summer League before committing to the Bulldogs, according to Joe Tipton of On3. He had signed an Exhibit 10 deal with Cleveland in June after entering the draft process earlier in the summer.
That Exhibit 10 agreement is a one-year, non-guaranteed NBA minimum-salary contract that brings a player to training camp. Teams often use it to take a closer look at undrafted rookies and other fringe players, while also keeping G League rights if the player is waived.
Lee’s summer stint didn’t produce much momentum. Across five games, he connected on just 21.4% of his 3-point tries and finished with a minus-1 plus-minus.
The Toronto native spent one season in Gainesville after transferring from Princeton. In his lone year with Florida, he averaged 11.6 points, 4.2 assists and 3.7 rebounds while helping the Gators to a 27-8 record and a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. His shooting dipped during that stretch, as he hit only 29.2% from beyond the arc.
Before Florida, Lee logged three seasons at Princeton. He averaged 12.7 points while shooting 43.5% from the field and 33.4% from 3-point range, and he broke out as a sophomore with 17.1 points per game.
After the summer, Lee announced on Aug. 18 that he was entering the transfer portal.
He remains eligible to join Mark Few’s program, though the NCAA still has ongoing appeals of those legal rulings.
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