[Highlight] Yaxel Lendeborg with back to back blocks
He’s definitely going to play some minutes at the 5 this year.
He was a 5 his whole life up until this season
yeah those back to back blocks are definitely noticeable
Hopefully Kerr skips his usual “he needs to earn it” shtick and just gives him some run. You are going to want him ready when Porzingas inevitably gets hurt.
Kerr has no issue playing rookies if they play within the teams structure
glad someone else said this.
young players (3Y or less) that got a ton of burn under kerr: harrison barnes (was only in his 2nd or 3rd year when kerr took over), draymond, ian clark, jordan bell has averaged his most minutes ever w kerr, quinn cook, patrick mccaw, looney, damian jones averaged 17 mins, damion lee averaged 29 and his most mins ever with kerr, alfonzo mckennie averaged 14 and his most mins ever with kerr, JTA averaged 21 and his most mins ever with kerr, poole, paschal averaged 28 (!) and his most mins ever with kerr, omari averaged 18 and was out the league after, marquess chriss averaged 20 and was out the league after, bender averaged 22 and was out after, gui averaged his highest ever at 20 this last season, podz has the longest leash i’ve ever seen, trayce averaged his highest ever w kerr so far, pat spencer averaged 19 this last season, lindy waters averaged 17 which is 2nd highest in 5 seasons
the only players that didn’t: smailagic and was out the league, moody didn’t get much burn when he started but averaged 26 this last season and the one albatross of jonathan kuminga
literally countless waves and waves of young players that thrived and got tons of PT w kerr. whether the player is good or bad, he has a long record of at least giving him a chance to play on the floor. how long is my list, like 20+ players? a third of which aren’t even in the league anymore?
and it’s worth mentioning that poole had, and still does have, some of the most egregiously awful shot selection in the entire nba. EVEN HE GOT MEANINGFUL PT in spite of this bc at the end of the day he took his shots within the system, no matter how contested or deep they were. and he was a willing passer of the rock to curry
kuminga is the ONE exception, and we’re judging kerr’s developmental acumen by this one dude who thought he was too good to pass to a top 10 player OAT? what an absolute disgrace to basketball discourse that this take of “rookie boogeyman kerr” has gotten this far. kuminga would go rogue on both sides of the floor, and is also honestly mediocre in the brand of basketball he prefers to play. he is a poor man’s julius randle
Quentin Post is a good one to mention too. Not for minutes played but dude was the 52nd pick, played in the gleague until December, got his first start in January, and then started game 3 against the Rockets that year in the playoffs.
This post was cathartic for me, thank you
glad to hear it :)
This complaint is from the same subset of insane fans who insist Kerr is just a bus driver of Steph (using Kuminga as an example of his failing) and Podz should be publicly hanged for one innocuous quote.
Bro Steve Kerr literally said that he wasn’t playing Will Richard, because he wanted to honor the vets. Will fit the team structure well.
He started Wiseman in his first game as a rookie and had Podz/Will Richard part of the rotation in their rookie season. He’s never been about the “need to earn it” non sense. I’m not saying I agree with Kerr’s style of coaching but he’s always been about playing a specific style of basketball; if you don’t fit his offense and not an engaged defender he won’t give you consistent minutes. It’s also not like Wiseman/Kuminga/Poole have been exactly thriving on other teams. Hawks turned down Kuminga’s team option and he hasn’t even been signed onto a team yet.
Exactly, it’s like learning the west coast offense in football. You play when you’re ready to run it correctly. We have drafted too many high ceiling projects who were super raw, and many of them did not have the bbiq and never developed it to work within the system. If this guy can play smart basketball he’ll play immediately.
Warriors migh’ve found their Center
if Bron doesnt come this dude might be our starting 3 until Jimmy is healthy lol
It will depend on training camp, but the beginning of the year it will probably be Gui. Though, I do like Gui off the bench too for his hustle and motor and his growing ability to get his own bucket.
Plus, the Warriors don’t really care about who starts, it’s more about finding who’s going to end the game from game to game.
Gui is more of a 4 than a 3 imo.
Im guessing draymond starts, but i wouldn’t be shocked if gui plays the same or very similar minutes to him.
They’re currently playing yaxel as the SF in summer league, im guessing theyre hoping to see if he can hold up there and play it during the regular season.
I don’t disagree with that, Gui does have some slow feet on the perimeter defensively and his three-point shot is inconsistent that and it has improved a lot so it could be even better next year.
I would also want Yaxel at the 3⁄4 because of his size and incredible athleticism. If he can understand NBA defensive rotations and responsibilities quickly, him, Draymond, and KP are going to be a nasty defensive trio (when KP plays).
I am curious if at some point it would make sense for Draymond to come off the bench if he Yaxel really pops off and Gui shows at the end of last year was not a fluke and he can score that much in a winning situation. I’ve always flirted with the idea of Draymond coming off the bench to help control his minutes and to allow him to play less center so he can save his body for the postseason. This would also be assuming that we had a good enough team to reach the postseason enough to play around with that idea.
If the defense can survive without draymond playing a ton of minutes I would be fine with him coming off the bench. If we did an AD trade and got LeBron I would definitely want him coming off the bench.
A Yaxel, Gui, KP fromtcourt gives us a lot more on offense than having dray out there. The rebounding would likely improve too since draymond hasnt been good at that for a few years now.
Draymond’s still good at boxing out, but he does need someone to come in and scoop up the rebounds, He can’t do both jobs anymore.
But yeah, what theoretically Yaxel could be, combined with Gui and KP could be a real offensive blender of a front court. Added with Podz extending advantages or Melton or Richard providing great point of attack defense, it would be a lineup around Steph, even if the contending ceiling isn’t that high.
Yeah.
Im not particularly high on our current roster, but if things break right I could see them in the 5-8 range of the west. Once you get to the playoffs it doesnt matter how your regular season went. If you get a health advantage or a couple role players go off for a month then you have a punches chance at winning.
I know the goal is to win a championship, but I think just about everyone in the organization would be thrilled with a conference finals or second round appearance.
Yax/Dray/KP would solve a lot of spacing issues
I’m telling yall Yax’s defensive reputation is nowhere close to his actual ability. Dude can get blocks at will.
He looks ready now, hopefully is given a longer leash to learn and get playing time.
he’s almost 24 i’d hope he’s ready now lol
Some guys are never ready.
I’m still not ready. Soon though, I think I’ll hit my stride at 37.
I believe in you
Still waiting for Bruno Caboclo to be ready
5 years away from being ready
godammit you bet me too it
Bruno Caboclo
Dang he looks like he’s already been in the NBA
Yaxel’s draft stock took a hit because he’s not 19.
But the flip side is, this is the kind of thing you get when you draft a grown ass man. There are advantages.
Loved him at Michigan and I’m so hyped for him to show out this season.
I feel like he still has room to grow as well, the amount of basketball he has played is less than a normal 24 yo rookie
This is insanely high quality video. Wish we could get the actual NBA games looking this good.
No you’ll get 720p lagging videos until 2035 and you’ll like it
Wonder if Draymond ever responded to this guy’s texts
Rook still on read
If you squint it could be Anunoby out there
High praise there. Better passing feel. Better handle but I also don’t think Yaxel’s game is gonna be breaking people down off the dribble more like functional ball handling for playmaking opportunities.
Bro when does my team get to play. The warriors and lakers got to play twice already
This isn’t the real summer league, this is the California classic. Suns aren’t in this. Real summer league starts the 9th.
Actually i think the dubs B team played the bucks too.
That’s a double Yaxel
I sure couldn’t use my off hand to finish there, but it’s a very valuable skill that guy could use there.
Bro playing like he doesn’t want to get Poole’d
1st one doesn’t count because it was his TO 😂
Enes Kanter ceiling
They are nothing alike lol
so much so, that im confused where hes trying to draw the parallel?
like what
lol idk if enes kanter ever blocked shots like this
I don’t see it but you’ll probably hate who I think his ceiling comp is. Another Michigan guy and Golden State first rounder: Chris Webber
Don’t you mean Enes Freedom?
Ceiling is a poor man’s Lebron. The way he hunts chasedown blocks is mid-career Lebron-esque