Draymond Green Says Rookie Yaxel Lendeborg Shares a Key Trait With Jimmy Butler

Draymond Green sees something familiar in Yaxel Lendeborg — and it’s not just the rookie’s scoring punch. It’s a trait that, according to Green, links the Warriors’ first-round pick to one of the most clutch scorers of his generation: Jimmy Butler.

On a recent episode of “The Draymond Green Show,” the veteran forward broke down Golden State’s rotation and landed on Lendeborg with high praise. But the compliment came with a twist. Green described Lendeborg as a “really good scorer” with the potential to become “great,” then revealed the issue that makes him Butler-esque.

“Yaxel has this issue that most scorers don’t have, but some do. Jimmy Butler has the same issue,” Green said. “Meaning they see the floor so well that when you want them to have tunnel vision and go score, they see the floor so well. And that’s Yaxel.”

For Warriors fans, that’s a double-edged sword. On one hand, Lendeborg’s court vision is a rare gift for a rookie. On the other, it can keep him from attacking when the team needs buckets most — exactly the kind of deference that has defined Butler’s career at times.