Yaxel Lendeborg projects as one of the most intriguiging lottery prospects in next month's draft, with interest in the 23-year-old potentially gifting the Golden State Warriors a perfect trade opportunity to acquire a pair of young players.
Lendeborg is drawing interest from the Charlotte Hornets according to Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints on Monday, potentially giving the Warriors some leverage to trade down later into the first-round.
Yaxel Lendeborg rumors give Warriors perfect trade opportunity
The Hornets currently hold the 14th and 18th picks in the first-round, instantly raising speculation of whether the Warriors would be willing to trade down for both selections if the Hornets interest in Lendeborg is as strong as reported.
Having two opportunities in a strong draft could provide Golden State with the perfect chance to not only re-generate their roster for the short-term, but also start to building a far more optimistic outlook for the post-Stephen Curry era.
Trading down only three spots might still give the Warriors an opportunity to draft a player they were considering taking at 11 anyway, including a prospect like Cameron Carr who would provide a nice blend of short-term impact and long-term upside.
Wonder if the Warriors would trade 11 for 14 and 18 👀🤔 https://t.co/uYRqL5sTH2
— Peter O’Keefe (@POK252) May 25, 2026
They could also get a swing at another fantastic prospect at the 18th pick, including potentially looking at Lendeborg's NCAA championship-winning teammate Morez Johnson Jr. who's another 6'9" forward projected to go in that range.
The real question is how eager are the Hornets on Lendeborg, and how much can the Warriors convince them that he's a legitimate option for them at the 11th pick? Giving up both 14 and 18 for 11 might be an overpay, but Charlotte could still be motivated to make that deal if they're sold on drafting Lendeborg.
Warriors should have traded down in the past
If recent history is any indication, this is the exact type of move Golden State should be making. This will be the first time they've had a lottery pick since 2021, and you'd argue they should have traded down or out of those two lottery picks and the prior selection of James Wiseman in 2020.
The Wiseman one particularly hurts given the Warriors could have traded down and drafted future All-Stars Tyrese Haliburton or Deni Avdija -- two players the franchise had interest in, but who would have been a reach at the second overall pick.
Only time will tell if the Warriors learn from that and take a different path this year, but it's unlikely we'll see anything until they're actually on the clock with the 11th pick and after they've seen how the top 10 panned out.
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