Warriors hint at future Yaxel Lendeborg role with Steve Kerr watching

There may have been no coincidence that Steve Kerr's attedance at summer league on Tuesday led to the trial of a new role for Yaxel Lendeborg, and one that we could see at times with the Golden State Warriors moving forward.

Lendeborg played some minutes as a small-ball five in the second-half of a 106-85 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies, showcasing his versatility after playing the majority of his minutes as a small forward during summer league so far, and dating back to his final collegiate season at Michigan.

Warriors trial Yaxel Lendeborg at center with Steve Kerr watching

With his 3-point shooting being the biggest highlight through his first four games since the start of the California Classic, it was Lendeborg's ability to attack downhill that was the best impression from what was an otherwise disappointing outing for the team.

Lendeborg showed his size and physicality attacking the rim on multiple occasions, including in a notable play in the first-half where he discarded third overall pick Cam Boozer before finishing the floater.

Lendeborg missed his only two 3-point attempts but still finished with a team-high 15 points and nine rebounds on 6-of-12 shooting from the floor, while also adding three assists and two steals in nearly 29 minutes.

It wasn't all perfect from the 11th overall pick who did have four turnovers, six fouls and was a -28 in the 21-point loss, but some of the drives and finishes around the rim should still leave Kerr (and fans watching on) impressed.

He also arguably got the better of the highlight matchup with Boozer. The Grizzlies forward shot just 4-of-12 from the floor to finish with 12 points, seven rebounds, three assists and three steals, but Boozer would point to the scoreboard and the fact he was a game-high +35.

Warriors' Yaxel Lendeborg experiment could be sign of things to come

In Kerr's tenure over the past 12 years, Golden State have revolutionized the game with Draymond Green's ability to slide to the five and play small-ball lineups effectively. While the league is now trending back towards being bigger, we could still see Lendeborg play some center minutes occassionally as was experimented with against the Grizzlies.

There are still going to be some defensive and rebounding question marks, with Memphis pouring in 59 points during the second-half after a close affair through the first 20 minutes. They wound up shooting 47% from the floor and 53.1% from 3-point range, while also holding an advantage in offensive rebounds.

Tuesday's loss was the first Lendeborg has experienced in a Warrior uniform after four-straight wins, with the team now looking to get back on track when they face the New York Knicks on Thursday.

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