After some promising signs with the Golden State Warriors during his rookie season, Patrick Baldwin Jr. has been on a windy road trying to stick in the NBA over recent years.
The former first-round pick has shockingly wound up at the Sacramento Kings, making his debut for Golden State's pacific rival on Wednesday after signing a two-way contract with the franchise in the last week.
Former Warrior Patrick Baldwin Jr. has found his way to the Kings
After being traded by the Warriors to the Washington Wizards as part of the Jordan Poole-Chris Paul deal on draft day in 2023, Baldwin has since had subsequent stints with the L.A. Clippers, Philadelphia 76ers and now the Kings.
Wednesday's game against the Houston Rockets was just Baldwin's fourth game this season, and the first time he played more than seven minutes since January last year. The 23-year-old was still quiet in what resulted as a blowout 128-97 loss, recording just five points and three rebounds on 2-of-6 shooting from the floor while comitting four fouls.
Yet with the Kings already sending a number of their key players off for season-ending surgery, this shouldn't be the first and last time Baldwin gets an opportunity to impress over the next six weeks. It could be a make or break period for the former 28th overall pick too, with Baldwin in his fourth year in the league and therefore ineligible to be on a two-way contract with any team beyond this season.
After being a five-star recruit coming out of high school, Baldwin did show some early signs of why the Warriors took a gamble on him coming off their 2022 championship. His ability to stretch the floor at a nearly seven-foot size was intriguing from the outset, having shot 38.1% on nearly three 3-point attempts per game with Golden State during his 31 games in his rookie year.
That made it somewhat of a surprise when he was included in the Poole-Paul trade, though the Warriors have certainly been vindicated for moving on from Baldwin who has failed to make his mark in the league since.
He's appeared in just 66 games since departing Golden State, leaving Baldwin with current career averages of 3.7 points, 2.0 rebounds and 0.5 assists on 40.8% shooting from the floor and 37.3% from 3-point range.
Whether he can make this latest stint with the Kings develop into something long-term remains to be seen, but for the moment Baldwin is just another recent first-round pick that the Warriors have whiffed on.