The Warriors thought Brayden Burries might still be there at No. 11.
For a few tense moments on draft night, that belief held. Then Milwaukee stepped in front of them, and Steve Kerr made his feelings known.
ESPN’s Anthony Slater reported that the Warriors were deep in discussion inside their war room as the clock wound down on the 2026 NBA Draft. Golden State had Burries, the Arizona guard who recently worked out in San Francisco, high on its board. He wasn’t just a Kerr favorite, either - he had backing across the front office.
“As the minutes turned to seconds, ESPN's draft night broadcast went live to the Warriors' war room to find Lacob and Dunleavy engaged in a spirited discussion while they were on the clock for the No. 11 pick,” Slater wrote.
The Bucks changed the whole setup of the night. League executives had expected Milwaukee to take Tennessee wing Nate Ament with the No. 10 pick, but the Bucks’ trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo a day before the draft also gave them the No. 13 selection. That extra pick gave them room to adjust, and they used it to take Burries at No. 10 before later adding Ament three picks after that.
Golden State had gotten some warning that Burries might not make it. Slater reported the Warriors were told around the eighth pick that the guard likely wouldn’t slide to them, but the room still reacted when the Bucks made it official.
“Team sources said the Warriors' front office was given an indication around the eighth selection that Burries wouldn't make it to them, but there was still an audible groan from Kerr, those in the room said, when Burries was officially selected by the Bucks.”
The timing mattered because the Warriors had been aiming at Burries for that role. As Siegel reported, the plan had been to target him, and Golden State briefly thought it might still happen after the Atlanta Hawks and Dallas Mavericks passed on him with the eighth and ninth picks.
“Originally, sources said the plan was to target Brayden Burries in the NBA Draft for this role, and Golden State believed they were about to do so after both the Atlanta Hawks and Dallas Mavericks passed on him with the eighth and ninth overall picks, respectively,” Siegel reported.
“But the Bucks took Burries right before the Warriors, leading them to go with another player high on their draft board - Yaxel Lendeborg.”
That left Golden State to pivot to Lendeborg at No. 11.
The Warriors came away with a versatile forward they believe can help right away. Before the draft, team sources called him an “obvious fit” because of his size, defensive versatility and winning mentality, even with questions about his age relative to other lottery prospects.
Still, the Burries miss will linger. Slater’s reporting makes clear how close the Warriors felt they were to landing him, and Kerr’s reaction said plenty about how much the organization valued the guard. In a draft that shifted fast, Milwaukee’s move turned Golden State’s target into one of the night’s biggest what-ifs.
In Other News...
Blazers May Have Found A Real Answer To Their Guard Logjam
A speculative trade idea is starting to circulate around Portlands guard logjam, and it has the kind of layered appeal front offices tend to notice. The Blazers have multiple young ballhandlers in the mix, while the Bucks have their own incentive to keep exploring ways to reshape the backcourt around roster flexibility and long-term fit.
The wrinkle is timing, which makes the whole thing more of a summer conversation than a done deal. The players at the center of the discussion cannot be moved until early September, and the contractual setup around a rookie deal and future restricted free agency adds another layer to the calculus. For now, it reads like one of those possibilities that makes sense on paper, even if the path from idea to actual transaction is still hazy. [Read more 🡒]
Bucks Still Have Two Costly Giannis Era Mistakes To Untangle
The Bucks are staring at a familiar kind of roster squeeze, with 17 players on the books and only 15 spots available once Opening Night arrives. In practical terms, that means Milwaukee has to sort through the edges of the roster while also weighing the bigger-picture fallout from the Giannis Antetokounmpo trade that reshaped the teams direction.
Myles Turner and Kyle Kuzma stand out as the most obvious names to move, largely because their contracts are heavy and their fit now looks awkward in a post-Giannis setup. Turner is tied to a multi-year deal that includes a player option in 2028-29, while Kuzma is on an expiring contract but still set to make $20.5 million this season, leaving the Bucks with some expensive decisions to untangle before the roster gets finalized. [Read more 🡒]
Bucks Still Have 3 Major Decisions That Could Reshape The Rotation
Milwaukees offseason still has a few moving parts left, and the front office may not be done shaping the roster before camp fully settles in. The Bucks are weighing extension decisions on two players with just one year left on their contracts, while also keeping an eye on the trade market as they look for ways to add another piece without upsetting the balance of the group.
There is also the practical matter of trimming the roster to 15 players before the season begins, which means some standard contracts will have to go. With a surplus of guards already in the mix, the backcourt looks like the most obvious place for Milwaukee to make room, but the way the Bucks handle those choices could end up changing the rotation in more ways than one. [Read more 🡒]