Golden State Warriors owner Joe Lacob has confirmed the franchise tried to acquire another first-round pick at this year's draft in addition to 11th overall pick Yaxel Lendeborg.
Warriors insider Tim Kawakami interviewed Lacob on his podcast and believes the Warriors were likely targeting Brayden Burries, but it's actually another Michigan champion in Aday Mara who the front office should have been honing in on had they acquired another selection.
Warriors should have targeted Aday Mara with another first-round pick
Yaxel Lendeborg has completely reshaped the present and future of the Warriors, but can you imagine if he also had his former teammate in Mara alongside him? Not only would that add to a future that suddenly looks much brighter with Lendeborg and Brandin Podziemski, it would have also helped solve the Kristaps Porzingis situation that Golden State are currently dealing with.
Mara was taken after Lendeborg at 12 by the Oklahoma City Thunder. After an underwhelming stint in summer league, the Spanish big man has impressed and is now receiving bigger opportunity in the wake of injuries to Chet Holmgren and Jaylin Williams at the center position.
Mara is averaging 8.1 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.9 blocks in less than 20 minutes per game, shooting 62.5% from the floor while using his massive 7'2" to impact on both ends of the floor as the injury-hit Thunder have still procured an 8-2 record.
Mara may have seen similar minutes on this Warrior team given their own injury issues, and having that engrained chemistry with Lendeborg could have been dyanmic while setting up Golden State's frontcourt for the next decade.
1 specific thing: Lacob confirmed that the Warriors were trying to get Lendeborg AND another player (probably Burries) in the draft. Not instead of. AND somebody else.
— Tim Kawakami (@timkawakami) November 10, 2026
Lacob: "Would we have liked to have gotten a second pick and tried to do that? Did we try? Sure." https://t.co/JqeSgBJuR9
Brayden Burries would have been part of guard logjam
The Milwaukee Bucks swooped in before Golden State to take Burries 10th overall, with the 21-year-old starting to show flashes as to why both franchises were keen on him coming out of Arizona.
But Burries would have also been part of what's been a productive guard rotation for the Warriors thus far. He could have played a role no doubt, but the presence of Stephen Curry, Brandin Podziemski, Brandon Williams and De'Anthony Melton would have meant his short-term impact likely wouldn't have been felt as significantly as Mara.
The strength of this draft class has been evident through the first weeks of the season. The Warriors were right to pursue another first-round pick in a loaded draft, but that's also why they ultimately weren't able to as teams were protective and wanted their slice of the draft pie.
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