Yaxel Lendeborg isn’t hiding how demanding his first NBA training camp has been. The Warriors’ 11th overall pick has been adjusting to the team’s new five-out offense, sliding between multiple positions and taking direct instruction from Steve Kerr. In a recent interview, he was candid about how difficult the adjustment has already been.
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Asked whether he was enjoying his rookie duties, Lendeborg didn’t dress it up.
“Nah man I’m tired. I’m already tired of doing them. I gotta do it, you know? I can’t be one of those arrogant rookies thinking they’re better than they are. So I’m taking everything to the chin and just handling my business.”
That mindset also extends to how Lendeborg is processing feedback. He described receiving a personal text that boosted his confidence and helped him approach the game with a stronger belief in his own ability.
“And especially, me texting a person and them still telling me that. It’s not like a media thing, it’s like a personal thing. It definitely makes me feel a lot better for myself. And it puts me in a, I wouldn’t say a tough position, but like a situation where I have to talk to myself like, man, I really have to do this. It’s not gonna be them pushing me to just shoot the ball every single time. It has to be me thinking like, yeah, I can do this, I’ll be able to do it. So I pretty much went in with that mindset tonight and it ended up working out better than I thought.”
What Kerr Sees in Lendeborg’s Coachability
Steve Kerr’s comments provide another look at how the rookie has responded to the demands of camp. Asked about Lendeborg’s coachability and how quickly he responded to the push to become more aggressive, Kerr offered strong praise.
“He’s unbelievably coachable. He’s very matter of fact. He’s sought me out a couple times so far here in camp, asking me, what he needs to do better… he doesn’t take anything personally when I coach him. I can coach him hard, and he embraces it and tries to do whatever we’re asking. So he’s really a fun, fun guy to coach.”
That coachability is being tested by the different roles the Warriors could ask Lendeborg to handle. Kerr has discussed the possibility of using him at small-ball center, and Lendeborg believes the role could help him offensively by creating more opportunities to attack the basket and make plays.
Defensively, however, the rookie knows there could be an adjustment. He explained that he and Draymond Green could potentially switch defensive responsibilities depending on the matchup because Green is more experienced defending opposing centers.
“I think it’ll help me out, for sure, offensively. I don’t know on the defensive side yet. I feel like me and Draymond will have to probably switch passes, maybe because he defends five better than I would. But offensively, I feel like it’ll be easier for me. If they do decide to put the five on me, so that would give me a lot more opportunities to get to the basket and make more plays. So I’m kind of excited for that, see how that goes out. See what kind of big guys are trying to move and see what I can do.”
For Lendeborg, the early NBA adjustment is demanding, but his willingness to accept the workload and respond to Kerr’s coaching gives the Warriors another reason to trust their first-round pick.