MINNEAPOLIS - The Warriors and Timberwolves were supposed to meet with plenty of star power on Wednesday night, but the NBA’s early injury wave has already started peeling names off the marquee.
Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards is set to undergo an arthroscopic procedure on his right knee and could be sidelined for as long as two months, ESPN reported. The setback adds his name to a growing list of prominent players already dealing with serious injuries just one week into the season, including Paolo Banchero, Jalen Williams, Cason Wallace, Jalen Duren, Jaren Jackson Jr., Lauri Markkanen and Jalen Suggs.
The Warriors, meanwhile, had their own scare on the injury report with rookie Yaxel Lendeborg listed as questionable because of inflammation in his left foot.
Lendeborg was limping after the Warriors’ win over the Nuggets in Denver on Monday night, then explained at his locker that the issue came from stepping on his own foot.
“Now it’s just tender in my left foot, and it was stupid, man,” Lendeborg said. “But (the Warriors’ medical staff) said it should be nothing crazy.”
That’s a rough turn for a game that had the feel of a showcase. Edwards is a four-time All-Star who helped eliminate the Warriors from the 2025 postseason in a second-round series, and he opened this season on a tear, putting up 33.3 points per game for the 3-1 Timberwolves while meshing with new arrivals LaMelo Ball and Jonathan Kuminga.
Lendeborg has been doing his part to make the Warriors watchable early, too. In Monday’s 134-114 win over Denver - Golden State’s first victory of the season - he carved out a place in team lore with a performance that put him alongside a pair of franchise legends.
His 13 free-throw attempts were the most by a Warriors rookie since Curry got to the line 12 times and scored 40 in the final game of his rookie season in 2010. And his 87 points through four games were the most by a Warriors rookie since Wilt Chamberlain piled up 150 in 1959.
Beyond the numbers, Lendeborg has quickly won over his teammates. Veterans have praised how he keeps asking questions and acts like a “sponge,” while his blunt answers to reporters have also made him one of the more talked-about rookies around the league.
He’s also been logging serious minutes. Lendeborg leads the Warriors with 133 minutes played, well ahead of Gui Santos at 96, and Kerr has repeatedly said he expects the rookie to pace the team in minutes as Steph Curry, Draymond Green and Al Horford manage heavier workloads.
Now, though, even that plan may have to wait. What was supposed to be one of the night’s headline games will already be missing at least one major piece when tipoff arrives at 5 p.m. Pacific Time.
In Other News...
Warriors Rookie Is Delivering But One Draft Doubt Just Got Louder
The early returns on Yaxel Lendeborg have been exactly what Golden State needed while key teammates work their way back from injuries. The rookie has already carved out a real role, and in a season where the Warriors have had to lean on depth sooner than expected, he has looked like one of their most useful players right away.
Across the bracket, Aday Maras preseason has only sharpened the contrast between promise and opportunity. The Oklahoma City Thunder rookie turned in a strong exhibition stretch and even logged a double-double in a recent game, but the path to meaningful minutes is crowded on a roster with real depth. For now, the talent is easy to see, even if the chance to show it consistently still looks limited. [Read more 🡒]
Jonathan Kuminga Is Reviving An Uncomfortable Warriors Debate
Jonathan Kumingas early run since leaving Golden State has brought back a familiar question around the Warriors: was the issue ever really his talent, or the way he fit into their structure? His offensive production has stayed fairly steady with his new teams, but the bigger shift has come on the other end, where the numbers have been kinder to him with both the Hawks and Timberwolves. Those stops have given him a different context, and the improvement has been noticeable enough to reopen the conversation about what kind of defender he can be when the environment around him is right.
The support system matters here. Playing next to strong rim protectors and elite point-of-attack defenders has helped cover some of the gaps that complicated Kumingas role in Golden State, while also making it easier to see his own ability to hold up on that end. For the Warriors, that is the uncomfortable part of the debate: his new situations have suggested a player whose defensive value may depend as much on deployment as on instinct, and whose best position is still not settled. [Read more 🡒]
Mavericks Just Got Linked To A Trade Idea Fans Will Debate
The Warriors keep getting mentioned in center-market conversations, and one of the more interesting ideas on the table would send Daniel Gafford from Dallas to the Bay in a package built around Moses Moody, Gui Santos and a 2028 first-round pick. It is the kind of proposal that immediately invites debate because it speaks directly to Golden States need for more size in the middle while also asking Dallas to weigh long-term value against a player who has carved out a useful role.
From the Warriors perspective, the appeal is obvious: Gafford would give them a more traditional option at a spot where they have been searching for answers. The twist is that the discussion is not just about fit, but about whether the money works cleanly for both sides and how much the Mavericks would value Moody, whose injury status and playing profile are part of the larger calculation. Nothing is finalized, of course, but this is the sort of deal framework that can linger because it forces both front offices to decide how much certainty they want now versus what they might prefer later. [Read more 🡒]