A war room argument was caught on national television seconds before one of the NBA Draft’s most-watched picks on Tuesday.
The cameras caught Golden State Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. and team governor Joe Lacob in what appeared to be a disagreement, and the clip went viral before the Warriors even had time to announce the selection.
Mike Dunleavy Jr. Revealed Golden State Warriors War Room Argument Was About Trades, Not a Power Struggle
After Golden State took Michigan forward Yaxel Lendeborg with the No. 11 pick, Dunleavy spoke with reporters and explained what was actually going on.
The answer is more revealing than the golf joke he led with.
Dunleavy opened with the deflection most reporters expected. “We got into it about the best golf course in San Francisco, and he didn’t agree with me, which, you know, is all in the eye of the beholder,” he said.
Then he told the real story. Trade calls were coming in while Golden State sat on the clock, and that’s what had the two talking.
“There wasn’t anything major,” Dunleavy said, “but when you’re on the clock, you get calls. We knew we were going to pick Yaxel at 11. He was the guy. But you just want to flush him out. Make sure you’re not missing anything that falls in your lap or makes a ton of sense.”
Lacob pushed to stop deliberating. Dunleavy pushed back. They still had five minutes on the clock, and because Golden State was there, no one could swoop in and grab Lendeborg. They took the Michigan forward anyway, as planned, and the decision was unanimous.
Golden State entered the draft confident about where things stood at No. 11. Dunleavy said the class was loaded in that range.
“This is a really strong draft class, so I felt like once we got to picks nine, 10, and 11, we were going to be anxious to see who falls there,” he said.
“But we felt like at 11, no matter what happened, we were going to get a good player…As far as the discussion with Joe and I, I think at that point there’s probably some talks about trades and things like that, but ultimately we were all in agreement to land on taking the Yaxel.”
The clip resonated partly because of Lacob’s well-documented involvement in basketball operations. His imprint has been visible on some of the franchise’s most debated lottery picks, James Wiseman in 2020 and Jonathan Kuminga the following year, both of whom are no longer on the roster.
Lacob was drawn in by a draft class that skewed older and NBA-ready, which fit what the Warriors needed alongside Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler, and Draymond Green. Lendeborg’s size, defensive versatility, and secondary playmaking made him an obvious match.
He turns 24 before next season, and Dunleavy joked the age wasn’t a concern: “I’m not worried, because he’s not 38.”
After the pick was in, Dunleavy said he’d warned Lacob that criticism would come regardless of the choice.
Lacob wasn’t buying it. Then it did. “He’s really excited about the pick,” Dunleavy said, “and kind of who we got and how we think he can help.”
