Warriors take Patrick Baldwin Jr. late in the first round
SAN FRANCISCO — While some of the Warriors are still celebrating the NBA title they won one week ago, Golden State’s brass turned its attention to what’s to come.
The Warriors added a future prospect with their 2022 firstround NBA draft pick, selecting 19-year-old guard/forward Patrick Baldwin Jr. 28th overall.
A star out of high school, Baldwin’s freshman season at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee was cut short due to an injury. He averaged 12.1 points and 5.8 rebounds in 11 games.
Coming off their fourth NBA title in eight years, the Warriors are early favorites to repeat as champions and remain in winnow mode while also developing talent for the future. Baldwin will not be relied on to make a major immediate impact. He joins lottery picks James Wiseman (21 years old), Jonathan Kuminga (19) and Moses Moody (20) as being part of the next generation of Warriors.
Baldwin is the Warriors’ third No. 28 overall pick in the last five years.
Golden State took guard Jordan Poole out of Michigan in 2019. He wasn’t an immediate hit as Poole underperformed in his first two seasons as he struggled to adjust with the transition from college ball to the NBA. After a G League demotion last season, Poole broke out this season and was a key supporting cast member on the Warriors’ title-winning team.
Meanwhile, the Warriors’ decision to take guard Jacob Evans III out of Cincinnati in 2018 has proven to be a mistake. He was thrown in to the trade that sent D’Angelo Russell to the Timberwolves for Andrew Wiggins and the pick that turned into Kuminga. Evans played last season in the G League with the Santa Cruz Warriors.
Warriors swing surprise trade in NBA Draft’s second round
SAN FRANCISCO — The Warriors entered Thursday’s draft with three picks to work with, but swung a trade to move up the board in the second round.
The Warriors acquired the 44th overall pick in a trade with the Atlanta Hawks and took Toledo’s Ryan Rollins, a 19-yearold guard. Golden State sent the Hawks their 51st pick, which turned into UConn guard Tyrese Martin, and $2 million.
“The gap behind Rollins and the next guy was pretty big, so that’s why we moved up,” general manager Bob Myers said.
Golden State is in the market
for playmaking depth, and Rollins is a 6-foot-4 guard with an astounding 6-foot10 wingspan. The Warriors liked Rollins’ shot creation ability — he shot 45% from the field and 32% from 3 in two years with the Rockets.
“We value that. He looks like he can dribble, pass, shoot,” Myers said. “He shot well from the free throw line… he shot 31% from 3, not great, but we think he can get a little stronger and extend out. He’s got a little bit of that (Jordan) Poole game. Watching him play one-onone, he’s a tough cover.”
Rollins profiles as a combo guard and will turn 20 on July 3, right when the California Classic portion of Summer League begins.
Rollins was named to the Mid-Major All-America Team in his sophomore year and First-Team All MAC team four times. Rollins is the first player drafted out of Toledo since 1998, when the Philadelphia 76ers took Casey Shaw with the 37th overall pick.
With the No. 55 pick, the Warriors took forward Gui Santos out of the Brazillian Basketball League. Santos could be a draft-and-stash prospect, meaning the Warriors could have him continue to play in Brazil as a development project. The Warriors did this with Justinian Jessup, their 51st overall pick in the 2020 draft who is playing for the Illawarra Hawks in Australia’s National Basketball League.
Myers said the Warriors will use the next few days to decide if they will bring Santos to San Francisco or have him stay in Brazil.
Santos, 20, went undrafted in the 2021 NBA draft. He averaged 10 points on 45% shooting from the field and 32% from 3 on an average 3 3-pointer attempts per game with the Minas Storm.
Amid the madness, the Warriors also signed undrafted guard University of Memphis guard Lester Quinones to a two-way deal, according to reports. Quinones played with James Wiseman at Memphis.