Draymond Green Gives Strange Quote About Yaxel's LeBron Pitch

Draymond Green isn't shy to address any topic on his podcast, and in Thursday's episode he commented on his rookie teammate, Yaxel Lendeborg.

At Las Vegas Summer League, Lendeborg was asked to give his LeBron James pitch. He responded by saying that though he knows James isn't a fan of playing with rookies, Lendeborg is not your typical rookie, presumably referring to his age (23) and advanced skill set. Lendeborg added that the Warriors have Stephen Curry and Green, which should appeal to James.

Green had this response to Lendeborg's pitch.

"Is the pitch too weak or too strong? I don’t know. I think the pitch is pointless, you know. But it’s fine. Training camp is coming soon enough and, you know, got to rein the rookie in a little bit. You know, teach him a few things.

"Training camp’s coming soon enough. Yeah, training camp will be here pretty soon. And I think you all know why I’m hinting at training camp. And yeah, it’ll get here soon enough, Yax. Enjoy all your media.”

Unpacking This Quote

My guess is Green is trying to be playful here. He's implying that Lendeborg is having too much fun with the media, and once he gets to training camp, he'll face a reality check about how difficult it is to prepare yourself to play in the NBA.

Green is making it clear that the real work is about to start, and when it does, there won't be as much media fun.

True as that may be, this was a strange quote.

Lendeborg's James pitch may indeed be pointless as Green says, but it's also harmless. And if Green has issue with Lendeborg saying anything about James at all, well, I have thoughts on that.

First, Lendeborg was asked on the spot. He could have said, "I won't comment on that," but considering his answer was straightforward, he had no reason to think he'd make his veteran teammate annoyed by it.

Second, Green gives his opinion on everything, so it feels like a double-standard for Green to be annoyed about his teammate giving his opinion about anything.

Green Praises Yaxel's Summer-League Performance

The beginning of the Lendeborg segment was titled, "Yaxel has been balling!"

And Green was right to say it.

In five summer-league games, Lendeborg has averaged 16.0 points, 6.8 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 1.4 steals. Most impressively, he's shot 56.5 percent from three.

There were some fans concerned about whether the Warriors reached on Lendeborg with the 11th pick. At the time, I felt those concerns were unfounded, and if anything, summer league has made more fired up about his potential.

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