With the No. 28 overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, the Warriors selected Milwaukee forward Patrick Baldwin Jr. on Thursday night.
The Warriors are hoping to strike gold at No. 28 for the second time in four years after they drafted Jordan Poole at that spot in 2019.
Baldwin Jr. joins a Warriors team fresh off winning the 2022 NBA championship. Golden State already has several young players in Jonathan Kuminga, Moses Moody and James Wiseman who will be fighting for minutes during the 2022-23 season.
Baldwin Jr. likely will join Kuminga, Moody and Wiseman during NBA Summer League action in July.
Much like when the Warriors took Poole, Baldwin Jr. is a bit of a reach. When Golden State selected him, he was the 20th player on ESPN’s Best Available list. But they are taking a chance on a player with upside as opposed to someone who can help them win right now.
Baldwin Jr., who turns 20 in November, stands at 6-foot-10 and weighs 231 pounds while possessing a 7-foot-1 wingspan.
At Milwaukee, Baldwin Jr. played for his father Pat last season but as a freshman, he appeared in just 11 games. He averaged 12.1 points and 5.8 rebounds in 28.5 minutes. He shot 34.4 percent from the field and 26.6 percent from 3-point range, so there is room for improvement on the offensive end.
But with the current roster construction, the Warriors have the ability to give Baldwin Jr. time to develop before inserting him into the rotation.
RELATED: Why Baldwin Jr. could be worth the gamble
Here’s what ESPN’s NBA draft analyst Jonathan Givony wrote about the Warriors’ selection of Baldwin Jr.:
“Baldwin has tremendous size for a wing, measuring over 6-foot-10 with a near 7-2 wingspan and 231-pound frame. He sports an effortless stroke with a silky touch, polished footwork, the ability to make difficult shots off the dribble, a great pedigree and is just 19 years old. As talented as Baldwin is, he had an unproductive and inefficient season playing at an extremely low level of competition, where he was clearly hampered by a nagging ankle injury that dates back to his high school years. NBA scouts question his toughness on the defensive end, as well as his explosiveness and inability to make teammates better as Milwaukee clearly played better when he was out of the rotation. Those question marks caused Baldwin to fall from a projected top-10 pick to the No. 28 pick of the draft.”