Michigan basketball: Danny Wolf, Yaxel Lendeborg both projected as first-round NBA Draft talents

The Michigan Wolverines have a pair of intriguing NBA Draft storylines in May with outgoing forward Danny Wolf and potential transfer addition Yaxel Lendeborg in the mix to go in the first round.

Wolf has long been mentioned as a potential lottery pick and seems destined to stay in the draft. Lendeborg gets the bulk of the intrigue, though, given that he transferred out of UAB, entered the draft and simultaneously committed to Michigan.

The Ringer’s J. Kyle Mann ranks Wolf and Lendeborg as the draft’s No. 16 and 19 players, respectively, and has full scouting reports on both available.

Wolf averaged 13.2 points per game and led the Big Ten with 9.7 rebounds per contest. He was one of four Wolverines to play and start in all 37 games this past season, where he formed an unorthodox combo with Vladislav Goldin as a 7-foot duo who played together a ton on the floor.

Michigan was able to accomplish that by Wolf essentially being a supersized guard, which gives him a unique skill-set to sift through.

“The idea of Danny Wolf is tantalizing,” Mann wrote in his profile. “He’s a true 7-footer who looks immensely comfortable facing the basket and directing traffic not only from the elbows, but from beyond the arc as well. It’s the kind of game that was built for social-media highlights. But questions bubble up in the spaces in between those highlights.

“Wolf has exemplary feet for his size and he uses them well to offset his mostly ground-bound existence. On offense, he can toggle between facing up with a live dribble and either putting bigger defenders in a blender with a couple of separating moves or reverse-pivoting into a back-to-the-basket approach against smaller players. We’ve also seen some impressive stuff in one-on-one situations—crossovers that end in soft, high-glass touch finishes or (shaky but effective) in-and-outs that end in splashed stepback 3s. Hit shot mechanics are smooth, but he hasn’t been a prolific or even accurate threat beyond the arc. Combine that with a career 64.6 percent average at the foul line and his future as an NBA shooter looks more like a wager.”

Wolf is not without his warts, though. The Ringer analyst said that an inefficient pick-and-roll game and turnovers ring as his biggest concerns.

“Navigating clusters of defenders was a challenge for Wolf in the Big Ten, and it’s a big reason why the 129 pick-and-rolls he ran (way above average for a big guy) failed to be especially efficient,” Mann wrote. “His capability to produce wowza moments passing or finishing can be neutralized when roaming defenders crowd around him, leading to turnovers or imbalanced drives where he travels or runs someone over. If Wolf pairs that sizable frame and those nimble feet with a splash of “hit first” mentality, his finishes will improve and his free throw attempts will increase.

“He’s still young: Despite being a junior, Wolf only turns 21 in May. So while becoming a star seems unlikely, there are paths toward being a dynamic and productive role player. Honestly, there’s a lot of Hedo Turkoglu in Wolf, but he’ll need to clean up a lot of the foibles—the turnovers, the below-average finishing, the inconsistencies—to have the opportunities to showcase his strengths.

Yaxel Lendeborg’s standing

Lendeborg is not that far behind Wolf at No. 19 overall, and the UAB forward has some developmental upside not all that common for an upperclassman player. This season, he was a star with the Blazers, averaging 17.7 points, 11.4 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.8 blocks and 1.7 assists per game while shooting 52.2% from the field and 35.7% from three-point range.

Michigan took his commitment on April 5, and is now waiting out the NBA Draft process.

“A late rise up draft boards is on-brand for this balletic battering ram,” Mann said. “Lendeborg started playing high-level organized hoops in just the past six years, and the leap he made from his 2020 junior college tape to his 2025 tape is one of the wilder things I’ve seen in my time watching basketball. Once a limited but efficient below-the-rim play finisher who showed some natural feel for using his physical tools, the senior is now a do-everything point forward who led UAB this season in nearly every statistical category.

“Yaxel’s mastery of the simple things is still present; everything he’s added since ripples out from there. His huge frame and deft use of his feet allow him to shovel dirt on smaller defenders in the middle of the floor, drawing fouls and amassing short-range points in bunches. He also loves to tear the rim down when given the chance. He’s become impressively dynamic when facing the basket, too. The handle is evolving, and turnovers can mount as a result, but he was an efficient hub of offense for UAB this past season. I’ve been most impressed by the way Lendeborg is able to score from anywhere without getting derailed by an appetite to do so. His game interfaces with winning. He has impressive creativity as a passer, whether it’s in tight or wide spaces. He’s also become a respectable catch-and-shoot player with mechanics that don’t raise any red flags.”

“Lendeborg’s build and the quickness of his jumps make me think he’s more likely to guard forwards and bigs than quicker on-ball scorers, and he has the added benefit of being able to create out-of-area deflections and altered shots. But considering how far this guy has come in such a short time, it’s hard to set a limit on how much he can improve. The ceiling probably isn’t as high, but because of his age, size, and progress, there are some whiffs of a Pascal Siakam developmental arc in the air.”

The NBA Draft combine is set for May 11-18 in Chicago. Wolf, Lendeborg and Goldin will all be in attendance. The deadline to withdraw from the NBA Draft is set for May 28.