Exciting rookie Yaxel Lendeborg looked like one of the best players in Summer League to add more hope for his NBA career with the Golden State Warriors. The Summer League playoffs ended with Lendeborg leading the Warriors to a championship victory over the Memphis Grizzlies. Lendeborg was asked about whether Stephen Curry and Draymond Green enjoyed seeing him lead the younger players to win.
Previous critical and tense comments from Green were referenced by Yaxel when discussing Draymond:
“Yeah, I hope so man. I don’t know if Draymond… I hope Draymond likes it man, ‘cause we’ve been over here going back and forth. But I mean, the Michigan thing, you know, we’re bringing dubs, we bring championships, we win. So I mean, you got to respect it, you feel me? So go Dubs, and hopefully them boys can enjoy seeing what they saw. And when it comes time to play in the regular season, hopefully they stay with me.”
Lendeborg laughed when talking about the “back and forth” between himself and Green. The weekly podcast from Draymond led to him reacting to some of Yaxel’s comments in a negative tone that showed there was some tension there. Head coach Steve Kerr may have to ensure that Green and Lendeborg are in a good place once training camp starts.
Why Draymond Green Might Dislike Yaxel Lendeborg
Three exchanges between Green and Lendeborg showed some tension building. The first instance came when Yaxel revealed he didn’t hear from Draymond yet when asked, but Green took offense to that by saying he checked in with the rookie as part of being an NBA veteran.
Draymond seemed most annoyed when Lendeborg made a public pitch for LeBron James to join Golden State when asked by the media. The tone of Green suggested that he took offense to a new rookie making his pitch to an icon like James, even though the media asked him to.
Finally, Yaxel made a joke about Green and Jordan Poole’s previous drama since he and Poole both attended Michigan University. All three instances have seen Draymond being critical. This should be resolved once training camp starts since Curry is the leader and Green follows his example.
Yaxel Lendeborg Could Become Most Important Warrior
Golden State has done very little this offseason to improve the roster and have higher hopes of playoff contention next season. Re-signing Al Horford and Kristaps Porzingis were positive moves, but it’s all to bring back the same roster from last season.
LeBron is the top Warriors’ offseason target, and there are few viable backup plans out there. Free agents like DeMar DeRozan and Bradley Beal have not been linked to Golden State like with the other teams who could potentially lose out on James.
Lendeborg is the only noteworthy addition to the roster and has looked outstanding in Summer League. Green must put any differences aside and try to help Lendeborg develop faster. The Warriors badly need Lendeborg and some other young talents to step up in Jimmy Butler’s absence with an injury expecting him to miss half the season.
Yaxel Lendeborg Comments On Tension With Draymond Green