The Cleveland Cavaliers acquired some new faces on Sunday afternoon, as they traded away Rodney Hood to the Portland Trail Blazers. As part of the return, they received Wade Baldwin IV. But who is Baldwin?
When the Cleveland Cavaliers reportedly traded Rodney Hood to the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday (per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski) the question on Cleveland fans’ minds revolved around what kind of return the franchise received for him. A talented guard that could never find consistency or aggression would only bring back so much. With that being said, it shouldn’t have been a shock when the assets ended up being Nik Stauskas, Wade Baldwin IV, and two second-rounders.
Cavaliers general manager Koby Altman has made it a known point that he’s doing all he can to acquire as many draft picks as possible right now, he just hasn’t physically spoken those words. With a rebuild in the beginning stages, it’s imperative to net as many picks in the next few Junes to hopefully piece together a playoff-contending team once again. So the two second-rounders should be looked at as a good thing, though not anything to get overly excited about.
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Stauskas has been looked at as a three-point shooter that is alright in most areas. He isn’t going to blow you away with one facet of his game, be that offensively or defensively. However, maybe a fresh start with the Cavaliers could help give his career a boost, as our own Robbie DiPaola highlighted.
But what about Baldwin? It’s weird to think that a third-year pro has as much uncertainty about him as a couple of second-round draft picks. Baldwin’s essentially an unknown commodity at this point until the Cavaliers prove otherwise.
Until then, here’s what we know about Baldwin thus far.
He helped Vanderbilt make the 2016 NCAA Tournament
Vanderbilt basketball is not known as a powerhouse of any kind, especially in the ever-competitive SEC. But Baldwin helped the Commodores reach new heights while he was with the ballclub.
The Commodores, led by Baldwin’s team-high 14.1 points and 5.2 assists, were able to finish the regular season with a 19-14 record, going 11-7 in conference play, per Sports Reference. Though the win-loss record was far from staggering and Vanderbilt was bounced from the SEC Tournament with a first-round loss to Tennessee, the team was able to sneak into the NCAA Tournament.
Vanderbilt’s dreams came to an end with a 70-50 loss to Wichita State in the First Four.
He was drafted 17th overall by the Memphis Grizzlies
Baldwin was involved in the 2016 NBA Draft after playing two years at Vanderbilt University. After a couple of campaigns with the Commodores, the then-20-year old was being slotted as a first-round pick.
The Memphis Grizzlies made that come to fruition by selecting Baldwin with the 17th overall pick in the draft.
While Baldwin only spent a season with Memphis that saw him appear in just 33 games, it’s worth noting that the Grizz saw more promise in him than the likes of Caris LeVert, Pascal Siakam, and Dejounte Murray, all who went within the next twelve picks of Baldwin.
He’s had a nice stretch of G League performances this season
Baldwin has spent some time in the G-League as his contract with the Trail Blazers allowed him to go back-and-forth between the developmental league and the big show. It’s done some good things for him, as he’s shown flashes of what he can do with extended playing time.
In six games for the Texas Legends, five of them starts, Baldwin has posted 22.7 points, 5.2 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 2.2 steals, per Basketball Reference’s G League statistics. That’s an all-around effort that would absolutely be welcomed by the Cavaliers, who are looking to find talent in any way they can.
Now with a lottery-bound Cleveland squad, it’ll be interesting to see how much time Baldwin gets on the court and what he does with said time.