diff --git a/packages/views/common/actor-avatar-profile-link.test.tsx b/packages/views/common/actor-avatar-profile-link.test.tsx
index 8e27cfba7..cac7b90e8 100644
--- a/packages/views/common/actor-avatar-profile-link.test.tsx
+++ b/packages/views/common/actor-avatar-profile-link.test.tsx
@@ -10,8 +10,10 @@
  */
 import { afterEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
 import { fireEvent, render, screen } from "@testing-library/react";
+import { AppLink } from "../navigation/app-link";
 import { NavigationProvider } from "../navigation/context";
 import type { NavigationAdapter } from "../navigation/types";
+import { DeferredPopup } from "./deferred-popup";
 
 vi.mock("@multica/core/workspace/hooks", () => ({
   useActorName: () => ({
@@ -72,6 +74,47 @@ function renderAvatar(adapter: NavigationAdapter) {
   );
 }
 
+function PickerWrapper({ children }: { children: React.ReactNode }) {
+  const stop = (event: React.SyntheticEvent) => {
+    event.stopPropagation();
+    event.preventDefault();
+  };
+  return (
+    <div onClick={stop} onMouseDown={stop} onPointerDown={stop}>
+      {children}
+    </div>
+  );
+}
+
+function renderCardPicker(adapter: NavigationAdapter) {
+  return render(
+    <NavigationProvider value={adapter}>
+      <AppLink href="/acme/issues/issue-1">
+        <PickerWrapper>
+          <DeferredPopup
+            trigger={
+              <span>
+                <ActorAvatar
+                  actorType="member"
+                  actorId={MEMBER_ID}
+                  enableHoverCard
+                />
+                <span>Change assignee</span>
+              </span>
+            }
+          >
+            {(open) => (
+              <span data-testid="mounted-picker" data-open={String(open)}>
+                Picker mounted
+              </span>
+            )}
+          </DeferredPopup>
+        </PickerWrapper>
+      </AppLink>
+    </NavigationProvider>,
+  );
+}
+
 describe("ActorAvatar profile link", () => {
   afterEach(() => {
     vi.restoreAllMocks();
@@ -88,6 +131,26 @@ describe("ActorAvatar profile link", () => {
     expect(open).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
   });
 
+  it("opens the deferred picker while cancelling the enclosing card link", () => {
+    const push = vi.fn();
+    renderCardPicker(makeAdapter({ push }));
+
+    expect(fireEvent.click(screen.getByText("Change assignee"))).toBe(false);
+    expect(screen.getByTestId("mounted-picker")).toHaveAttribute("data-open", "true");
+    expect(push).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+  });
+
+  it("yields to the picker by default without leaking native card navigation", () => {
+    const push = vi.fn();
+    const { container } = renderCardPicker(makeAdapter({ push }));
+    const avatar = container.querySelector('[data-slot="avatar"]');
+
+    expect(avatar).not.toBeNull();
+    expect(fireEvent.click(avatar!)).toBe(false);
+    expect(screen.getByTestId("mounted-picker")).toHaveAttribute("data-open", "true");
+    expect(push).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+  });
+
   it("uses openInNewTab for cmd/ctrl click when available (desktop)", () => {
     const push = vi.fn();
     const openInNewTab = vi.fn();
diff --git a/packages/views/common/actor-avatar.tsx b/packages/views/common/actor-avatar.tsx
index ac8cb4b75..4f9560f54 100644
--- a/packages/views/common/actor-avatar.tsx
+++ b/packages/views/common/actor-avatar.tsx
@@ -150,12 +150,9 @@ export function ActorAvatar({
 
 /**
  * Not an `<a>` on purpose: the avatar is often composed inside menu items,
- * options and buttons, where it must yield the click to the surrounding
- * control untouched (no preventDefault — a real anchor would need one to
- * suppress its own navigation, and a pre-prevented click can change how the
- * host control behaves). The cost is no native context menu; modifier and
- * middle clicks are implemented here instead, with the same intent semantics
- * as AppLink.
+ * options and buttons, where it yields the click to the surrounding control.
+ * The cost is no native context menu, so modifier and middle clicks are
+ * implemented here with the same intent semantics as AppLink.
  */
 function ActorAvatarProfileLink({
   href,
diff --git a/packages/views/common/deferred-popup.test.tsx b/packages/views/common/deferred-popup.test.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..480d5608e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/views/common/deferred-popup.test.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+import { fireEvent, render, screen } from "@testing-library/react";
+import { describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
+import { DeferredPopup } from "./deferred-popup";
+
+function popupContent(open: boolean) {
+  return (
+    <span data-testid="mounted-popup" data-open={String(open)}>
+      Popup mounted
+    </span>
+  );
+}
+
+describe("DeferredPopup", () => {
+  it("opens its default trigger and cancels an enclosing link's native navigation", () => {
+    render(
+      <a href="/issues/issue-1">
+        <DeferredPopup trigger={<span>Open picker</span>}>
+          {popupContent}
+        </DeferredPopup>
+      </a>,
+    );
+
+    expect(fireEvent.click(screen.getByText("Open picker"))).toBe(false);
+    expect(screen.getByTestId("mounted-popup")).toHaveAttribute("data-open", "true");
+  });
+
+  it("does the same for a custom trigger element", () => {
+    render(
+      <a href="/issues/issue-1">
+        <DeferredPopup triggerRender={<button type="button">Open priority</button>}>
+          {popupContent}
+        </DeferredPopup>
+      </a>,
+    );
+
+    expect(fireEvent.click(screen.getByText("Open priority"))).toBe(false);
+    expect(screen.getByTestId("mounted-popup")).toHaveAttribute("data-open", "true");
+  });
+});
diff --git a/packages/views/common/deferred-popup.tsx b/packages/views/common/deferred-popup.tsx
index b4db1b23e..6cf25fcc4 100644
--- a/packages/views/common/deferred-popup.tsx
+++ b/packages/views/common/deferred-popup.tsx
@@ -19,9 +19,10 @@ import { cloneElement, useState, type ReactElement, type ReactNode } from "react
  *   swaps the element mid-gesture (no pointerenter/pointerdown warming),
  *   every event of the gesture lands on a node that is still attached —
  *   both for real pointers and for synthetic sequences (tests, assistive
- *   tech). The in-flight click is stopped from propagating so the popup's
- *   just-mounted outside-press dismissal doesn't treat it as an outside
- *   click and close the popover in the same breath.
+ *   tech). The in-flight click is prevented and stopped so an enclosing link
+ *   cannot perform native navigation, and the popup's just-mounted
+ *   outside-press dismissal doesn't treat it as an outside click and close
+ *   the popover in the same breath.
  * - `Enter`/`Space` do the same for keyboard.
  *
  * Only for uncontrolled usages: callers that pass `open`/`onOpenChange`/
@@ -70,6 +71,7 @@ export function DeferredPopup({
   };
   const handlers = {
     onClick: (e: React.MouseEvent) => {
+      e.preventDefault();
       e.stopPropagation();
       mountOpen();
     },
diff --git a/packages/views/issues/components/board-card-assignee-picker.test.tsx b/packages/views/issues/components/board-card-assignee-picker.test.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..50e7f6f60
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/views/issues/components/board-card-assignee-picker.test.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,163 @@
+import { fireEvent, render, screen } from "@testing-library/react";
+import { describe, expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
+import type { Issue, IssueAssigneeType } from "@multica/core/types";
+import { AppLink, NavigationProvider, type NavigationAdapter } from "../../navigation";
+import {
+  IssueSurfaceActionsProvider,
+  type IssueSurfaceActions,
+} from "../surface/actions-context";
+import { BoardCardContent } from "./board-card";
+
+vi.mock("@tanstack/react-query", async (importOriginal) => ({
+  ...(await importOriginal<typeof import("@tanstack/react-query")>()),
+  useQuery: () => ({ data: [] }),
+}));
+
+vi.mock("@multica/core/hooks", () => ({
+  useWorkspaceId: () => "ws-1",
+}));
+
+vi.mock("@multica/core/properties", () => ({
+  propertyListOptions: () => ({ queryKey: ["properties"] }),
+}));
+
+vi.mock("@multica/core/auth", () => ({
+  useAuthStore: (selector: (state: { user: { id: string } }) => unknown) =>
+    selector({ user: { id: "viewer-1" } }),
+}));
+
+vi.mock("@multica/core/agents", () => ({
+  isAgentRuntimeBound: () => true,
+  useAgentPresenceDetail: () => ({ availability: "offline", workload: null }),
+}));
+
+vi.mock("@multica/core/paths", () => ({
+  useCurrentWorkspace: () => ({ id: "ws-1", slug: "acme" }),
+  useWorkspacePaths: () => ({
+    memberDetail: (id: string) => `/acme/members/${id}`,
+    agentDetail: (id: string) => `/acme/agents/${id}`,
+    squadDetail: (id: string) => `/acme/squads/${id}`,
+  }),
+}));
+
+const viewState = vi.hoisted(() => ({
+  cardProperties: {
+    priority: false,
+    description: false,
+    assignee: true,
+    startDate: true,
+    dueDate: true,
+    project: false,
+    childProgress: false,
+    labels: false,
+  },
+  cardPropertyIds: [],
+}));
+
+vi.mock("@multica/core/issues/stores/view-store-context", () => ({
+  useViewStore: (selector: (state: typeof viewState) => unknown) => selector(viewState),
+}));
+
+vi.mock("@multica/core/workspace/hooks", () => ({
+  useActorName: () => ({
+    getActorName: (type: string) => `Assigned ${type}`,
+    getActorInitials: () => "AA",
+    getActorAvatarUrl: () => null,
+  }),
+}));
+
+vi.mock("../../i18n", () => ({
+  useT: () => ({ t: () => "Translated" }),
+  useTimeAgo: () => () => "now",
+}));
+
+vi.mock("../../agents/components/agent-profile-card", () => ({
+  AgentProfileCard: () => null,
+}));
+
+vi.mock("../../agents/components/agent-live-peek-card", () => ({
+  AgentLivePeekCard: () => null,
+}));
+
+vi.mock("../../members/member-profile-card", () => ({
+  MemberProfileCard: () => null,
+}));
+
+vi.mock("../../squads/components/squad-profile-card", () => ({
+  SquadProfileCard: () => null,
+}));
+
+vi.mock("./issue-agent-activity-indicator", () => ({
+  IssueAgentActivityIndicator: () => null,
+}));
+
+const navigation: NavigationAdapter = {
+  push: vi.fn(),
+  replace: vi.fn(),
+  back: vi.fn(),
+  pathname: "/acme/issues",
+  searchParams: new URLSearchParams(),
+  getShareableUrl: (path) => `https://app.example${path}`,
+};
+
+const actions: IssueSurfaceActions = {
+  isPending: false,
+  createIssue: vi.fn(),
+  updateIssue: vi.fn(),
+  moveIssue: vi.fn(),
+  batchUpdate: vi.fn().mockResolvedValue(undefined),
+  batchDelete: vi.fn().mockResolvedValue(undefined),
+};
+
+function makeIssue(assigneeType: IssueAssigneeType): Issue {
+  return {
+    id: `issue-${assigneeType}`,
+    workspace_id: "ws-1",
+    number: 6082,
+    identifier: "MUL-6082",
+    title: "Fix Board assignee interaction",
+    description: null,
+    status: "todo",
+    priority: "none",
+    assignee_type: assigneeType,
+    assignee_id: `${assigneeType}-1`,
+    creator_type: "member",
+    creator_id: "member-1",
+    parent_issue_id: null,
+    project_id: null,
+    position: 1,
+    stage: null,
+    start_date: "2026-08-12",
+    due_date: "2026-08-13",
+    metadata: {},
+    properties: {},
+    labels: [],
+    created_at: "2026-08-12T00:00:00Z",
+    updated_at: "2026-08-12T00:00:00Z",
+  };
+}
+
+describe("BoardCardContent assignee picker", () => {
+  it.each<IssueAssigneeType>(["member", "agent", "squad"])(
+    "opens the picker from an avatar-only %s assignee without navigating the card",
+    (assigneeType) => {
+      const issue = makeIssue(assigneeType);
+      const { container } = render(
+        <NavigationProvider value={navigation}>
+          <IssueSurfaceActionsProvider actions={actions}>
+            <AppLink href={`/acme/issues/${issue.id}`}>
+              <BoardCardContent issue={issue} editable />
+            </AppLink>
+          </IssueSurfaceActionsProvider>
+        </NavigationProvider>,
+      );
+      const avatar = container.querySelector('[data-slot="avatar"]');
+
+      expect(avatar).not.toBeNull();
+      expect(avatar!.closest('[role="link"]')).toBeNull();
+      expect(fireEvent.click(avatar!)).toBe(false);
+      expect(screen.getByRole("textbox")).toBeInTheDocument();
+      expect(navigation.push).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    },
+  );
+});
diff --git a/packages/views/issues/components/board-card.tsx b/packages/views/issues/components/board-card.tsx
index 45fe5e8cc..5bffb35c0 100644
--- a/packages/views/issues/components/board-card.tsx
+++ b/packages/views/issues/components/board-card.tsx
@@ -141,6 +141,7 @@ export const BoardCardContent = memo(function BoardCardContent({
         actorId={issue.assignee_id!}
         size="sm"
         enableHoverCard
+        profileLink={false}
         className="shrink-0"
       />
       {assigneeName && (