Draymond Green is already setting the tone for Golden State’s training camp, and it involves a pointed message for rookie Yaxel Lendeborg. The veteran forward fired back after Lendeborg made a public pitch to LeBron James about joining the Warriors this offseason.
On his podcast, Green dismissed the rookie’s recruiting effort with a cold shrug and a not-so-subtle heads-up about what’s coming when camp opens.
“I think the pitch is pointless, you know. But it’s fine. Training camp is coming soon enough, and you know, got to rain the rookie in a little bit,” Green said. “Teach him a few things. Training camp’s coming soon enough. Yeah, it’ll get here pretty soon. And I think you all know why I’m hitting at training camp. And yeah, it’ll get here soon enough, Yax. Enjoy all your media.”
That last part — “Enjoy all your media” — lands a certain way if you remember Green sucker-punching Jordan Poole during camp in 2022. That incident became national news, reshaped the Warriors’ season, and ultimately factored into Poole’s exit. So when Green talks about “raining in” a rookie with that kind of smirk, people notice.
Lendeborg, a projected first-round pick in some mock drafts, has drawn comparisons to an NBA-ready big who can contribute immediately. He told reporters his rookie goals are refreshingly modest: “I just want to be a role model to the kids. I wanna be somebody that the kids look up to and wanna be like… try to be as simple as possible.”
No MVP speeches, no rookie-of-the-year promises. Just a guy who wants to play steady basketball and set a decent example. That’s a solid approach for a first-year player. But it also means Lendeborg might not love the kind of attention Green is already aiming his way.
Green’s history with young teammates is complicated. He has mentored guys like Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody, but he has also clashed with them publicly at times. The Poole situation showed that Green’s “tough love” can cross a line. So when he says training camp is coming soon and the rookie needs to learn a few things, it reads less like a promise and more like a warning.
Whether Lendeborg interprets it that way or not, he’ll find out soon enough. Camp starts in a couple months. And if Draymond is this engaged now, the kid should probably keep his head on a swivel.
Leave a Comment