The Golden State Warriors are currently tied with the L.A. Clippers at a 32-27 record and have the opportunity to take hold of the Western Conference's sixth-seed with a win over the Philadephia 76ers on Saturday.
But as the Warriors and Clippers continue to battle for a playoff spot, the former have signed a former Golden State first-round pick in the form of young forward Patrick Baldwin Jr.
The Clippers are signing Patrick Baldwin Jr. to a two-way contract
Baldwin had found himself traded to the Milwaukee Bucks, then re-routed to the San Antonio Spurs before the trade deadline. Unfortunately the Spurs had no intention of retaining him, promptly waiving the former 22-year-old who found his NBA future in limbo.
Fortunately Baldwin landed with the Clippers G League team and has since made enough of an impression to earn a two-way contract with the franchise. The Clippers will waive Kai Jones and convert Jordan Miller to a standard contract, allowing them a pair of two-way spots to give to Baldwin and Seth Lundy according to ESPN's Shams Charania on Saturday.
The Los Angeles Clippers are waiving Kai Jones and signing Seth Lundy and Patrick Baldwin Jr. to two-way contracts, sources tell ESPN. Clippers are converting Jordan Miller to a standard deal today and adding two new two-ways.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) March 1, 2025
Baldwin has been impressive in four G League games with the San Diego Clippers, averaging 20.0 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 2.5 blocks in 33 minutes per game. A noted 3-point shooter with size, Baldwin has shot 51.7% from the floor and 40% from beyond the arc over those four games.
After being taken with the 28th overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, Baldwin appeared an intriguing prospect in his rookie season where he played in 31 games and shot 38.1% from 3-point range for Golden State.
The Warriors clearly didn't see a future with Baldwin though, sending the 6'9" forward to the Washington Wizards in the Jordan Poole-Chris Paul trade on draft day in 2023. Despite joining a rebuilding team where playing opportunity should have been forthcoming, Baldwin was largely out of the Wizards rotation over nearly two seasons where he played 60 games and averaged less than 10 minutes.
There was a suggestion that the Warriors could reunite with Baldwin given they had a two-way spot open, but they instead chose to sign Australian point guard Taran Armstrong to join Pat Spencer and Jackson Rowe.
It will be interesting to see whether Baldwin can develop his game into become a consistent NBA player, otherwise he could once again find himself out of the league and result as another Golden State first-round pick who didn't live up to expectations.