The Golden State Warriors are believed to be one of the teams still alive in the LeBron James free agency sweepstakes. Whether the NBA’s all-time scoring leader takes his talent to the Bay Area or not, first-round rookie Yaxel Lendeborg and Draymond Green will still be teammates, no matter what.
As a result, these two will have to learn to coexist, and so far, there are questions about whether there’s any underlying tension between the rookie and the 14-year vet.
Do Warriors Have a Problem With Yaxel Lendeborg- Draymond Green Dynamic?
It all started when the 23-year-old Puerto Rican native made his own recruiting pitch to James, whether it was welcome or not. Yet, Green, despite being teammates with Lendeborg and potentially being in line to benefit as a team from James’ addition, took issue with Lendeborg’s approach, calling it “pointless.”
It’s an odd back-and-forth exchange one might come to expect from bitter rivals, not something you’d see from people trying to make things work in the best way possible.
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Recently, Lendeborg was asked whether his Summer League performance was enough to make a strong first impression on Green and teammate Stephen Curry.
One of the first things out of Lendeborg’s mouth was how he “hoped” Green approved.
“Yeah, I hope so man,” Lendeborg said. “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.”
Reacting to Lendeborg’s comments, Yahoo Sports’ Kevin O’Connor wrote:
“Never seen anything like this before with an incoming rookie and a veteran going at it through the media before the season even begins,” O’Connor said. “So weird.”
Never seen anything like this before with an incoming rookie and a veteran going at it through the media before the season even begins. So weird. https://t.co/a5wFNpLX9K
— Kevin O’Connor (@KevinOConnor) July 20, 2026
It is a bit weird, isn’t it? Though one might argue that the first-year player hasn’t done anything wrong.
Green is the one who seems to be holding a grudge for whatever reason, and he’s supposed to be the more mature one, given that he’s 36 years old, 13 years older than the rookie.
Yet, perhaps this is all just overblown, and once the two connect for Warriors practices, they can put it all behind them.
Admittedly, Lendeborg says he is a bit “nervous” for the team’s training camp, not knowing what the former Defensive Player of the Year might have in store for his young teammate.
