Yaxel Lendeborg's performance in his first preseason game was a mixed bag.

The No. 11 pick of the 2026 draft had just four points on 1-of-6 shooting in 19 minutes. But on the bright side, Lendeborg had a team-high nine rebounds as well as three assists and no turnovers.

He finished a plus-three in the Warriors' 104-101 loss.

After the game, Steve Kerr and Stephen Curry sent Lendeborg the same message, which was to be more aggressive.

Kerr's Lendeborg Quote

"Yaxel's good, but we need him to be more aggressive," Kerr said. "There was a really key play in the second half where he has the ball underneath the basket and turns it over trying to throw it to Charles [Bassey], and they hit a three at the other end. That's gotta be a layup."

Bassey was officially given the turnover for having the ball stripped from his hands a moment after he got it, but Kerr's point is valid. Lendeborg could have powered-up for a layup, but he tried to be unselfish, which was a mistake.

Kerr added that Lendeborg is "capable of being the lead offensive threat when Steph is not on the floor."

Quite the praise for a rookie after a week of training camp and one preseason game.

Curry's Lendeborg Quote

"The balance for a young guy who's expected to have an impact is to walk that fine line of aggressiveness but being OK knowing you're going to make mistakes," Curry said. "... But we don't want anything passive."

Curry added that Lendeborg has been answering the call so far.

It would be inaccurate to say Curry was criticizing Lendeborg for being too passive.

But I think it's fair to infer that Curry's answer shows he already sees Lendeborg's potential, and this is Curry's way of telling Lendeborg to be more aggressive.

What the Message Says About the Warriors

Kerr's quote is more direct, so I'll focus on it here.

The fact that the head coach is calling for more aggressiveness from a rookie after one preseason game isn't noteworthy by itself.

The fact that the head coach is doing that and saying the rookie could lead the offense when the best player is off the court is unusual.

I think Kerr is being totally genuine. But it's unusual for a veteran team with playoff aspirations to be this reliant on a rookie 11th pick.

Kerr seems to see a team need for more offensive dynamism (which I've written about many times, including here), and there's no time to waste with the season starting in a couple weeks. So he's sending a message to his rookie immediately, and we'll see in the coming days if he heeds it and how he looks when being more aggressive.