The Golden State Warriors have been famously reluctant to trade first-round picks over the last half decade, much to the frustration of fans who've wanted their team to further prioritize aging superstar Stephen Curry.
The front office has been so protective of their future picks because they don't want to be left with nothing after the Curry era comes to an end. However, with Yaxel Lendeborg emerging as a potential star in front of everyone's eyes, perhaps it's the rookie forward who can finally push the Warriors into an all-in move for one last contending team around Curry.
Yaxel Lendeborg could finally push Warriors into all-in move around Stephen Curry
Golden State haven't given up multiple first-round picks in a trade for over a decade. They didn't need to at one point because they were already so good, and more recently it's because they've been so protective of the post-Curry future.
Even their last big move for Jimmy Butler nearly two years ago only cost one first-round pick, and it was a selection a matter of months down the track rather than years into the future that subsequently carries more risk.
But as Draymond Green outlined last week prior to the season opener against the Los Angeles Lakers, the Warriors may have found their next face of the franchise after Curry. Lendeborg backed up impressive performances against the Memphis Grizzlies and Phoenix Suns with a truly dominant performance on Monday night against the Denver Nuggets, dropping 31 points, 12 rebounds and six assists in the 134-124 win.
Lendeborg finished as a +27 in 31 minutes, while Brandin Podziemski was a +33 in a game where he added 18 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Between the two, the post-Curry future is starting look much brighter than it did a few months ago.
Warriors might be more open to trading their future picks
As a result of Lendeborg's emergence, and perhaps to a lesser extent Podziemski, Golden State might suddenly feel more comfortable about trading two or three of those future picks -- in the right scenario of course -- to have one more shot at a title as Curry's career winds down.
The next stage is whether the Warriors are actually good enough as a team to make that move. It will be hard for the front office to justify sacrificing multiple first-round picks if they're the 11th or 12th seed in the West, but even if they can hang in Play-In range until Jimmy Butler returns, that might be enough for them to take a swing.
After years of refusing to take a risk to prioritize the end of Curry's career, Lendeborg might be the one that actually convinces the Warriors to make a win-now move knowing they've, at the very least, got he and Podziemski in place for the post-Curry era.
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