The Golden State Warriors are relying heavily on Yaxel Lendeborg having a breakout season as a rookie. Stephen Curry is already trying to help elevate Lendeborg on a lackluster roster that is not anticipated to make the playoffs. Golden State refused to take risky NBA trades or overpay flawed free agents to limit their improvement from last season. Yaxel is the most noteworthy new player on the roster and needed to make any noise this season.
A quote from Lendeborg confirmed that Curry is already giving him advice:
“At the last game, I texted Steph and Draymond (Green) both, you know, just to ask for some advice and some guidance after the first game. Especially for me, just getting over the fact that I’m with NBA players every single day and I have like access to talk to them whenever I want. That’s something that I had to definitely get over with right away.”
Yaxel indeed confirmed that Curry and Green both gave him guidance in between preseason games to figure things out faster. Golden State is hoping the veteran leadership will help develop Lendeborg faster on the NBA level. Expect noteworthy minutes early for Yaxel with Jimmy Butler expected to miss at least a few months to start the season.
Warriors Fans Already Believe In Yaxel Lendeborg
Golden State’s limited roster already makes Lendeborg more important, but he clearly wants a big role. Yaxel is talking confidently about wanting to be a high impact player from year one to help Curry, Green, and Steve Kerr overachieve this season.
Warriors fans are fond of a player wanting the role and taking pride in joining the team. Lendeborg is already the most beloved young Warriors’ homegrown star over the longer tenured names like Brandin Podziemski or Moses Moody.
Golden State received bad news of Kristaps Porzingis being ruled out indefinitely. The trio of Porzingis, Butler, and Moody are all out to start the regular season. None of them have easily known return paths to predict their return dates. Younger talents must play more minutes, but the Warriors are an older veteran team. Yaxel will have to be the youth movement and deliver effective results quickly for team success.
Stephen Curry’s Real Goal Is Next Season
Almost no realistic paths exist for the Warriors to contend for an NBA Championship in the 2026-2027 season. The roster is too flawed to make up the gap to truly threaten the Oklahoma City Thunder and/or San Antonio Spurs.
Next summer will see Golden State having a lot more cap space to sign a big star or pull off a trade. The only immediate help would be trading for someone this season like Anthony Davis or Trey Murphy. However, even those moves would be more for contention next season since they’ll be playing catch-up this season.
Curry left some money on the table to help the franchise have a chance to add another star. Butler and Green are expected to take a pay cut if they return on new deals beyond this season. Lendeborg is pivotal to this plan as a cheaper contract on his rookie deal who must contribute this season and be ready to help content beyond.
Yaxel Lendeborg Reveals How Steph Curry Is Already Helping Him