Steve Kerr's Latest Yaxel Lendeborg Quote Has Warriors' Playing Time Implications

On Friday, Golden State Warriors head coach was asked if Yaxel Lendeborg is the most pro-ready rookie he's ever coached.

"100 percent," Kerr told reporters. "He's the most prepared, most ready guy."

Kerr (and just about all Warriors) has been praising Lendeborg since the Warriors selected him with 11th pick of the 2026 draft. And considering that a) Lendeborg has been scrimmaging with the first team in training camp and b) Lendeborg has been announced as a starter for Sunday's preseason game, it seems like the praise is genuine.

Lendeborg turned 24 years old on Wednesday, making him one of the older rookies in this year's class. So it's not a major surprise that Kerr sees him as being more pro-ready than other rookies he's coached.

But it's noteworthy all the same.

Comparing Lendeborg to Rookie-Year Podz

The rookie who has received the most playing time under Kerr is Brandin Podziemski.

The 2023 No. 19 pick averaged 26.6 minutes per game in 74 games (28 starts) in his first year.

If Lendeborg looks even more ready to contribute than rookie-year Podz was, it's reasonable to expect he'll average more minutes per game.

So we can guess his baseline will be about 27 minutes, but that doesn't factor in how much more the Warriors need Lendeborg to play now than they needed Podz to play in 2023-24.

That 2023-24 team had Stephen Curry and Chris Paul at point guard as well as Klay Thompson and Moses Moody as shooting guards who could play the 3. It also had Gary Payton II, who is listed as a guard for being 6'2" but doesn't really fit one position.

This year's team is without Jimmy Butler and Moody for several months, which leaves the forward rotation as Draymond Green, Lendeborg, Gui Santos and Georges Niang.

In my latest rotation projection, I had Lendeborg playing 32 minutes per game while Kristaps Porzingis is out with a health issue.

If/when the Warriors get healthier, maintaining that much playing time may prove difficult. But it's reasonable to suggest he'll be right around 30 minutes.

Keep in mind that last year, No. 3 pick VJ Edgecombe played 35 minutes per game as a rookie. In 2024-25, No. 14 pick Bub Carrington played 30 minutes per game as a rookie.

How the Forward Minutes Could Be Doled Out

Kerr will have to figure how to divide the 96 combined minutes the forwards will play.

He could simply give Lendeborg, Santos and Green 32 minutes each, but that's probably more than he wants Green to play at 36 years old, and it's unrealistic to play with that small of a forward rotation anyway for a variety of reasons.

Something like this would work:

Lendeborg: 32
Green: 26
Santos: 26
Niang/Payton: 12

Once Butler returns, these numbers will change substantially.

But for now, Lendeborg looks primed to have an even bigger workload than rookie-year Podz.

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