“Hopefully I Can Stick Around”: Famous Warriors Rookie Fears Trade Amid LeBron James-Stephen Curry Team-Up Talks

LeBron James’ free agency has not even begun, and the rumors have the Golden State Warriors’ locker room buzzing with high expectations. ESPN’s Shams Charania reported Monday that the Warriors will pursue both LeBron James and Anthony Davis this offseason, a two-pronged plan first detailed by Yahoo Sports’ Kevin O’Connor. The idea of a ‘Big 4’ in the Bay has rookie Yaxel Lendeborg dreaming of an immediate championship ring.

Following his selection as the No. 11 overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, the former Michigan standout found himself thrust into the middle of the league’s most explosive free-agency storyline.

“Obviously, that was gonna be ridiculous playing with a bunch of guys that’s been doing this for a long time, played with each other in the Olympic gold medal team and stuff,” Lendeborg said in his introductory press conference.

Taming his expectations, he hinted he hopes the rumors are true.

“So, they just trying to figure out, like, man, am I gonna get a ring my first year, that would be something else to tell, but hopefully it all happens. We’ll see how it goes.”

He is also actively crossing his fingers that he isn’t packaged away in a blockbuster deal to make this happen.

“I’m excited to see how it plays out, you know. Hopefully, I don’t get the back end of that and get traded. Hopefully, I can stick around to see how that goes.”

“So, they just trying to figure out, like, man, am I gonna get a ring my first year, that would be, that would be something to tell, but hopefully it all happens.”

Warriors draft pick Yaxel Lendeborg on free agency news, and maybe playing with LeBron James and Steph Curry. pic.twitter.com/FMtTak1pcn

— Joseph Dycus (@joseph_dycus) June 30, 2026

So we’re not the only ones buzzing with the fantasy of this team-up. But Lendeborg, who’s already built chemistry and banter with Curry, Green and Jimmy Butler, doesn’t want to be outside a legendary lineup.

So the dual reality of championships and trade possibilities is weighing on the rookie. We’d have to wait and see what happens when free agency kicks off on June 30.

Lebron James and Stephen Curry’s team-up needs the math to work out

When media members pressed the Big Ten Player of the Year on how he’d fit in with a lineup of aging superstars, Lendeborg was all enthusiastic about helping them.

“Those guys are a lot older,” Lendeborg observed. “So I feel like with me, I would have to try to be the energy. Be the guy that takes on all those extra plays so they can get some things off, trying to be spark on defense and yes bring as much of it as I can and give them time to rest.”

Yaxel Lendeborg’s championship dreams hinge on an ambitious, multi-layered and rumored offseason plan engineered by Mike Dunleavy Jr.’s office.

According to Charania, the Warriors are attempting to recreate the Team USA gold-medal core by signing LeBron James as soon as he hits free agency and trading for Anthony Davis, currently with the Washington Wizards, in a deal league sources say would likely require sending Jimmy Butler back to Washington along with draft capital.

It almost seemed possible when Draymond Green declined his $27.7 million player option. He effectively granted the team the financial flexibility to sign James as an unrestricted free agent while simultaneously constructing a massive trade package to acquire defensive anchor Anthony Davis.

Should Dunleavy successfully align the stars, the Warriors would boast an unprecedented “Big 4” consisting of Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, LeBron James, and Anthony Davis under Steve Kerr’s management.

It wouldn’t be Golden State’s first time chasing this kind of cast. Kerr built a Big Three of Curry, Klay Thompson and Green into a 2015 title, then added Kevin Durant for back-to-back championships in 2017 and 2018 before Durant left for Brooklyn.

That version worked because Durant arrived in his prime at 28. James, at 41, and Davis, who has battled injuries for much of his career, would be asking the formula to hold a decade later.

However, the Dubs just signed Kristaps Porzingis to a $40 million contract, which now limits their cap space, and Wizards general manager Will Dawkins has publicly maintained that Washington intends to keep Davis, telling reporters the team plans to revisit extension talks with him in August.

Whether that pitch is enough to spare him is a different question. While critics argue that adding older veterans could jeopardize the team, Lendeborg’s elite defensive versatility and willingness to handle the dirty work could save him from getting shipped away to another team.

But Golden State’s recent history cuts both ways here, too: this is a front office that traded Jordan Poole, drafted and later moved on from Jonathan Kuminga, and has shown little hesitation about clearing young pieces when a star-chasing window opens.

For a rookie hoping to outlast a roster crunch, that’s not exactly a reassuring precedent.

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