Hot Takes on Porzingis, Curry and Lendeborg Warriors Media Day Storylines

Reacting to three major Warriors media day storylines

Yaxel and Lendeborg and Stephen Curry | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Stephen Curry, Kristaps Porzingis and Yaxel Lendeborg were among the Golden State Warriors who made headlines during Monday's media day.

Below, I'll react to the storylines involving those three players, including Porzingis being out for training camp with a health issue and Curry reacting to a question about the Warriors missing the playoffs.

Porzingis' Health Issue Makes Him Likely Trade Candidate

Porzingis signed a two-year, $40 million contract this offseason, but just $3 million of his 2027-28 salary is guaranteed until July 7, 2027.

So he's essentially on an expiring contract.

If the Warriors are serious about contending this season, they'll need at least one of their rotation players to be the outgoing salary in a trade.

Porzingis should be that main outgoing salary.

The fact that he's out indefinitely with a health issue essentially seals it. The other players making enough money to facilitate a trade—Curry, Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green—are either more valuable or more reliable, or both.

For example, if the Warriors trade for Trey Murphy III, they'll have to have at least $27 million in outgoing salary. A framework involving Porzingis, Moses Moody and picks for Murphy would work.

Curry's Reaction to Playoffs Question Shows He Might Be Ignoring Reality

To be fair to Curry, the lead-in to the playoffs question was phrased, "Steve was saying he kinda likes that no one expects you guys to make the playoffs." It's one thing to say that some oddsmakers think the Warriors will finish ninth, but it's another thing to say no one expects a playoff berth.

So it's not shocking that Curry had a memorable reaction.

"That's how bad it is? To make the playoffs? It went from championship to..."

Curry finished the exchange by using gestures that suggested he couldn't believe the outside perception was the Warriors would miss the playoffs.

But let's be real here.

The Warriors have missed the playoffs two of the last three seasons. Butler and Moody are out for months. Porzingis' health is in question again. Curry is 38 and coming off missing a chunk of last season with runner's knee. The front office has been unwilling to trade multiple first-round picks for a win-now upgrade over the last decade.

I wouldn't expect Curry to respond to this question with something like, "I agree it's more likely that we'll miss the playoffs." But the way he was shocked by it makes it seem like he's misunderstanding where the Warriors are right now.

Lendeborg Pick Looks Even Better with Quotes About Him

Steve Kerr, Al Horford, Green and Butler were among the Warriors who had effusive prasie for Yaxel Lendeborg at media day.

Though it's to be expected that rookies—and all players, for that matter—will get praised on media day, this feels different.

Two of the reasons Lendeborg fell out of the 2026 draft's top 10 were his age (he turns 24 on Wednesday) and his practice habits not always being ideal.

So it was noteworthy when Kerr said Lendeborg "can't say out of the gym."

Horford, Butler and Green have praised his high IQ. Horford even compared his offensive ability to that of Michael Beasley, who averaged 19.2 points per game in his prime.

I argued here that the Lendeborg pick looks even better with the Porzingis health question mark, as the 2026 national champion has the versatility to play stretch-5 if needed.

These quotes combined with his summer league performance strongly suggest he'll be an impactful player immediately.

It's especially exciting to see how he'll fit with Curry. His reaction to being wide open after screening for Curry should have Warriors fans dreaming of how he'll take advantage of Curry's gravity.