The Golden State Warriors were ahead by 47 points on Monday night against the Pelicans, when rookie Yaxel Lendeborg got into a scuffle with New Orleans center Derik Queen, which resulted in technical fouls for both young players.
Lendeborg after the game explained: “I wouldn’t say (he) trying me, honestly. But, you know, he just pushed Graham (Ike). That was kind of crazy. So, I just said a couple cuss words and then said, ‘Don’t do that kind of in a way,’ and then he kind of came up on me. I kind of tried to do a little foul. It wasn’t as hard as I intended it to be, but just trying to send a message like, ‘Man, don’t mess with the guys.’ You know what I mean?”
He did not stop there, though: “Y’all ever heard of the Bad Boy Pistons? Yeah. That’s damn near us.”
Warriors’ Draymond Green Wants Yaxel Lendeborg to Settle Down
To that, Warriors big man Draymond Green wanted to pump the brakes. First, the Bad Boys style of the old Pistons will not fly in today’s flagrant-foul NBA. And second, Green is 36 and feels a bit too old to deal with that sort of thing. Green was ejected earlier in the month for a confrontation in Phoenix, and though he is known for his fieriness, he does not want to get ejected again.
On the “Draymond Green Show,” he warned Lendeborg to reel it in.
Said Green: “What I will say to Yaxel is, young fella gonna be a star. He gonna be a real star in this league. He’s very important and vital to our team, so we definitely don’t need him getting ejected. As I said, we got guys that can handle that” “And I’ll be honest with you, Yaxel, I’m going to cross my fingers on this one. I don’t think I have two more ejections in me. At least I hope not. Obviously, things happen. Shit happens. But let’s hope not, Yax.”
Warriors’ Draymond Green Has Warning for Yaxel Lendeborg