Now in his second NBA season, Wade Baldwin IV is still looking for his niche in today’s league. Baldwin was a standout at Vanderbilt University and was drafted just outside the lottery with the 17th overall pick in 2016 by the Memphis Grizzlies.
Baldwin appeared in only 33 games with the Grizz his rookie year and had a limited role. The expectation was for his involvement to continue to increase but instead, Baldwin joined the Portland Trail Blazers on a two-way contract. Since then, Baldwin has bounced back and forth between the G-League, playing only one game with the Blazers. However, the team announced that they will sign Baldwin to a regular NBA contract that will last through next season.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports that the contract will be worth the minimum for the next two seasons.
The Portland Trail Blazers have signed guard Wade Baldwin for the rest of the season on a minimum contract, league sources tell ESPN. He was on a two-way contract with Portland.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) March 12, 2018
Though the Blazers already roster one of the league’s most explosive backcourts, extra insurance would certainly help their chances. Shabazz Napier and Pat Connaughton have been holding down a lot of the reserve guard minutes so adding Wade Baldwin IV into the mix could bolster things.
Though Baldwin has only played one game with Portland this year, the 21-year-old has been posting some solid G-League numbers throughout the campaign. In 17 appearances with the G-League’s Texas Legends, Baldwin has posted per-game averages of 18.2 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 5.1 assists in just under 34 minutes per game.
