The Golden State Warriors went into the NBA Draft this past summer with one goal: to find someone who would be ready to contribute immediately. The Warriors could have gone a lot of different ways with the No. 11 pick.
Golden State decided to draft NCAA National Champion Yaxel Lendeborg. They believed he was ready to make an impact in the NBA.
“That reality cracks open the door for anybody the Warriors would’ve selected at No. 11 to grab an immediate role. But it was also part of their reasoning in landing on Lendeborg, who is considered an NBA-ready plug-and-play frontcourt rotation option for a team that desperately needs immediate production,” ESPN’s Anthony Slater wrote.
The Warriors have now played two games in the preseason, which has opened their eyes to many things. One of those is how they need Lendeborg to play. Head coach Steve Kerr wants the rookie to be more aggressive.
“We need him to be more aggressive,” Kerr told the media.
On Tuesday night, following the game against the Los Angeles Lakers, Lendeborg revealed how shocking it is that they want him to be an aggressive scorer this early.
“Well, it’s very shocking to hear it now. But I mean, I get the point. The two other guys are hurt. Jimmy was one of the main scorers on this team. So, going to have to try to fill in his role until he gets back. And I’ve been in positions where I’ve had to score the ball a lot, I guess, or an extra amount that I would like. I feel like I’ll be able to step into that role for sure. Just got to continue to work at it, get the confidence to do that. But I mean, I feel like everything’s going to be trending up the right way,” Lendeborg said.
There is no doubt that it is a big ask for Lendeborg, but he has what it takes to become a high-end scorer for Golden State until the injured players get back. He was dominant in college, and if he uses that same mentality, he can be dominant early on.
He is surrounded by the best offensive player in NBA history. Once he understands that being aggressive allows Steph Curry to operate, he will help the team so much more. It is going to be a learning curve, but Lendeborg still seems in shock that he is supposed to have such a big role.
