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The Golden State Warriorsmade a pick we graded an A, one of the best in the first round, selecting Michigan’s Yaxel Lendeborg at No. 11.
However, it wasn’t smooth sailing getting there — Warriors owner Joe Lacob and general manager Mike Dunleavy were seen arguing in the run-up to making that pick, something shown on the ESPN draft broadcast.
After the draft, Dunleavy was asked about the disagreement and initially tried to brush it off, saying the two had disagreed about the best golf course in San Francisco. Eventually, he came around to what really happened (and basically put it on Lacob) — Dunleavy wanted to wait and see if a chance to trade down and still get their guy fell in their lap. Quotes via NBC Sports Bay Area.
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“As far as the discussion with Joe and I, I think at that point there was probably some talks about trades and things like that, but ultimately we were in all in agreement to land on taking Yaxel,” Dunleavy told reporters.
“From our standpoint, 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. So that’s what we were doing. And I think Joe was like, ‘Come on, just let’s go ahead and pick the guy.’ I said, ‘Joe, we have time. They give you five minutes.’ He was just getting a little anxious about us taking Yaxel.
“The good thing was, because we were on the clock, nobody could swoop in and take him ahead of us. So I was willing to be patient with it.”
In the end, it all worked out. The Warriors selected Lendeborg, a plug-and-play four who can step in and help them win now, plus be part of the transition to whatever comes after the Curry era in the Bay Area.
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/warriors-owner-joe-lacob-gm-184829105.html
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Publish date : 2026-06-24 18:48:00
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