Mike Dunleavy has jokes.
When asked about what led to the seemingly awkward exchange between him and the Warriors owner Joe Lacob Tuesday night during the NBA draft that has since gone viral, Dunleavy said the two got into an argument over the best golf course in San Francisco.
The Warriors general manager then said it was a joke, and that the pressure of the moment with possible trades led to anxiety.
“This is a really strong draft, so once we got to No. 9, No. 10 and No. 11, I felt like we were going to be anxious to see who falls there,” Dunleavy told reporters after taking Michigan star Yaxel Lendeborg at No. 11. “But we felt like at No. 11, no matter what happened, we were going to get a good player.
“As far as the discussion with Joe and I … at that point there were probably some talks about trades and things like that. But ultimately we were all in agreement to land on taking Yaxel. I think Joe was like, ‘Come on, let’s go ahead and pick the guy’. He was just getting a little anxious about us taking Yaxel.”
Dunleavy and Lacob’s exchange happened moments before the team ended up staying at No. 11, despite fielding trade offers.
The toss-up for the Warriors front office was reportedly between Arizona guard Brayden Burries — who went to the Bucks with the No. 10 pick — and Lendeborg.
While he’s an older rookie at 23, Lendeborg won a national championship at Michigan this past season after transferring from UAB.
Lendeborg averaged 15.1 points and 6.8 rebounds per game while appearing in 40 games and starting 39.
The forward was also named Big 10 Player of the Year and was a consensus First Team All-American.
The 23-year-old, though on the older side for a rookie, will offer youth to a Warriors team headlined by 38-year-old Steph Curry, 36-year-old Draymond Green and 36-year-old Jimmy Butler.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
