- Position
- F
- Number
- #15
- Age
- 24
- Pieces here
- 8
On the record
Called Shots →Yaxel Lendeborg is in Golden State's starting lineup for its 2026-27 season opener on October 21, 2026.
Lajae Jones signs a two-way contract with the Golden State Warriors on or before opening night, October 21, 2026.
Brandin Podziemski, Gui Santos and Will Richard combine for more total regular-season minutes for the Golden State Warriors in 2026-27 than Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler and Kristaps Porzingis do.
Written about him
Golden State's last two-way job went to a man it did not draft
Golden State signed Graham Ike, undrafted out of Gonzaga in June, to a two-way contract on September 21, filling the last of the three two-way slots the club had carried open since the summer. Inside the same 24 hours, Lajae Jones, the guard Golden State took with the 54th pick of the 2026 draft and never signed, was announced by Pallacanestro Trieste of the Italian first division. Ike and Jones played the same nine games on the same Golden State summer roster: Ike averaged 10.0 points and 7.2 rebounds in 21.2 minutes, Jones 7.0 and 3.4 in 17.1. Two-way contracts are capped at three a team and pay $678,882 this season, and 79 of the league's 90 slots are now filled. The Warriors keep Jones's NBA rights while he plays abroad, which is the road Gui Santos took after Golden State drafted him 55th in 2022 and which ended with Santos starting 30 games last season. One take filed, on how much Ike plays.
The Warriors Are Counting On The Three Men Who Played The Most Minutes On A 37-45 Team
Steve Kerr told the Tom Tolbert Show on Friday that Golden State tried to get younger this offseason and could not, that nothing offered to the club made sense to him, and that depth is now the answer. He said the back end of the roster, including the two-way players, has to hold the fort until Jimmy Butler and Moses Moody return in the second half. Golden State's published schedule lists 80 regular-season games with dates, and 47 of them fall before February. The men Kerr named already carried the largest share of last season's minutes: Brandin Podziemski led the team at 2,333, and Gui Santos and Will Richard were fourth and fifth. Stephen Curry was sixth and Butler eighth. That arrangement produced 37 wins and 45 losses. Butler turns 37 on September 14 and is listed OUT. Two takes filed, on minutes and on Richard's starts.
Stephen Curry Played Ten Games Without Jimmy Butler Last Season. Golden State Went 4-6.
Golden State's 37-45 season splits four ways by who was available. With Curry and Butler both playing, the Warriors were 20-13 across 33 games. With neither, they were 10-24 across 34. The condition they open the 2026-27 season in, Curry available and Butler not, happened ten times last season and produced a 4-6 record. Butler is not expected back before early 2027 and Moody has no club timeline, which leaves 31.1 minutes a night at small forward and 25.7 at guard to be covered by Gui Santos, Will Richard, Brandin Podziemski, De'Anthony Melton and a rookie the club drafted eleventh. Two takes filed, on Yaxel Lendeborg's opening-night role and on how much of the season Butler plays.
