Perhaps a team that has employed Draymond Green for 15 years has skin that is a bit thicker, has more of an understanding and tolerance, has a willingness to put up with more from the hotheaded type of NBA player than most teams would. The Golden State Warriors have had Green on hand since 2012, and he’s been butting heads with coaches and teammates right along since his arrival in the league. So, when folks around the Warriors front office see Lendeborg calling out Lakers star Luka Doncic after the season opener last week, they don’t panic.
Apparently, they leave Lendeborg alone and let him do his thing. His Doncic beef, while it caught national attention and controversy, was not something the Warriors needed to address.
According to Lucas Evans of the San Francisco Chronicle, that’s what is happening with the Warriors and their precocious rookie. They’re leaving him alone. As Evans wrote: “Would some among the Warriors organization have perhaps recommended he not directly call out one of the best scorers in the league (Luka Doncic)? Well, yes. But there has been no internal conversation on reining in Lendeborg in media appearances or use of social media — outside of a brief conversation asking he simply not share any schematic secrets while streaming on Twitch this summer.”
Lendeborg would have it no other way, saying, “I’m not doing that, man. I’m going to stay true to myself, and be honest.”
Warriors Still Nursing Yaxel Lendeborg Along
It is certainly not the approach most teams would want to see from their budding young rookie, but the Warriors probably deserve some credit. Lendeborg’s personality and leadership was one of the big stories of the summer for the Warriors, and drumming that out of him , especially after he led Michigan to a championship this year–would have been both unnatural and boring for the Dubs, and the league.
That’s not to say the Warriors are just going to allow Lendeborg to do as he pleases–not on the floor, at least. His numbers have been outstanding, with averages of 22.6 points, 9.2 rebounds and 4.0 assists, but coach Steve Kerr has been harping on him about his 3.6 turnovers per game, including seven against the Timberwolves on Wednesday.
Said Kerr: “He tried to force a bunch of plays tonight; it’s his fifth game in the NBA. So I’m really excited. I’m almost glad that this happened. He feels terrible in there. He’s not happy at all. And yet he had 26 points and [nine] boards in his fifth NBA game.
“It’s a great lesson for him; the simple play is the best one over and over and over. We have enough guys already on this team who are going to turn it over. So he needs to be solid. He needs to learn the value of just making the simple play.”
Lendeborg will get another go-round with Doncic on Friday night in San Francisco, in an NBA Cup game tipping off at 10 p.m. ET.
Warriors Not ‘Reining In’ Yaxel Lendeborg Despite Controversy