Lacob says the Warriors 'got this one right' with Yaxel Lendeborg

What Lacob said

Joe Lacob did not hedge. Asked about Yaxel Lendeborg on 95.7 The Game, the Warriors owner said the rookie has changed the team's outlook.

"Some teams never get it right, and we got this one right," Lacob said, adding that he was fully sold on the pick before the draft.

That is a strong statement from an owner about a second-round-level draft outcome, and it reflects how quickly the rookie has produced.

Lacob also used the moment to concede past mistakes, saying the front office had not gotten every recent draft decision right.

The honesty is unusual for an owner in November, when most public comments are about process rather than results.

The comments were reported by Hoops Rumors, which cited an NBC Sports Bay Area transcript.

The interview aired Monday, which means the owner was speaking before the Warriors' most recent game.

The numbers behind it

Lendeborg is averaging 21.5 points, 7.0 rebounds and 3.9 assists, which is a startling line for a rookie wing.

He put up 37 points against the Clippers on Nov. 1, the game that made the national audience notice him.

The 24-year-old is older than most rookies, which partly explains the polished scoring and the physical readiness.

Golden State has used him as a secondary creator, and the offense has looked different with him on the floor.

"The amazing thing is, everything we thought he could be, he's come in and kind of exceeded that," Lacob said.

That quote is the useful one: it tells you the internal expectation was already high before the games started.

Golden State has asked him to guard bigger wings, and he has held up well enough that the staff keeps the assignment.

Why the pick worked

The Warriors have spent years trying to find a wing who could defend and score without needing the ball.

Lendeborg's college profile was that of a mature player who had already learned how to play off better teammates.

That profile usually produces role players; Golden State has gotten a starter-level contributor instead.

Lacob's admission that other high picks did not work out is the context for why this one feels different.

The team's development staff deserves credit, but the owner's framing is that the evaluation was right from the start.

Either way, the result is the same: a rookie is now part of the team's plans rather than a project.

What it means for Golden State

The Warriors are 4-3 after a 0-3 start, and Lendeborg has been the main reason the season stabilized.

He has taken minutes that would otherwise have gone to veterans, and the coaching staff has leaned into that.

The roster still has the same structural questions: age, defense and depth behind the stars.

But a young contributor changes the arithmetic, because the team no longer needs to solve every problem with a trade.

Golden State's next stretch includes games against teams with winning records, which will be a better test.

The owner's comments have raised expectations, and the rookie will have to carry them.

The wider draft debate

Every front office believes it evaluates well; the ones that last are the ones that admit the misses.

Lacob's concession about other picks is the part of the interview that will be remembered inside the organization.

It also gives the team cover: if the process was flawed before, the same process produced this pick.

For a franchise that has been accused of clinging to an old core, a productive rookie is the strongest counterargument.

The Warriors have drafted well in the middle rounds before, and they need this one to be real.

The next month will tell whether the start was a hot streak or a role that holds.

The Warriors' draft record is the subtext of every conversation about the rookie.

The statistical picture

A 21.5-point average on a team with two high-usage stars is the number that stands out.

The 7.0 rebounds are the part that keeps him on the floor, because Golden State has been a poor rebounding team.

The 3.9 assists suggest he can make a second action after the first one is taken away.

His 37-point game came in a win over the Clippers in which the Warriors rested Stephen Curry and Draymond Green.

That performance is why the owner's comments were not just hype.

It is also why opponents will start game-planning for him.

What comes next

Golden State plays a Western Conference opponent this week, and Lendeborg will draw a better defender.

The Warriors have to decide whether his minutes should grow or whether his role should stay where it is.

The coaching staff has already shown it will ride him when the game is close.

The owner has now said publicly what the staff has been acting on for two weeks.

That is usually a sign that the role is going to keep growing.

The team has not said whether his minutes will change, and the coaching staff rarely announces that in advance.

For now, the rookie is the story of the Warriors season.