Patrick Baldwin Jr. was one of the biggest wild cards in the NBA draft, and he will have a ton of eyes on him as he starts his career with the Warriors after being selected with the No. 28 pick Thursday night.
Despite being a five-star recruit out of high school, Baldwin Jr. was underwhelming in his lone season in college at Milwaukee amid poor play and injury concerns.
Baldwin Jr. only played in 11 college games after aggravating an ankle injury that cut short his senior season of high school, and didn’t go through a full workout with the Warriors when he visited during the pre-draft process.
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But Baldwin Jr. maintains that his ankle is feeling good and that he doesn’t anticipate it being an issue this summer.
“That was not health-related at all,” Baldwin Jr. said Friday on 95.7 The Game’s “Steiny & Guru” when asked about not going through a full workout with Golden State. “I've been able to go full 3-on-3 workouts for the last two months. There have been no signs of any injury, but we just wanted to make sure when I came in it was a quick visit, quick meeting, watch some film with some of the people.
“You just have to make sure all of your bases are covered. But overall, there were no issues going through the pre-draft process."
Warriors fans could get their first look at Baldwin Jr. in summer league as soon as next week at the California Classic or the following week in Las Vegas. That is, if he is cleared to play.
Golden State Warriors
General manager Bob Myers said Thursday that the Warriors’ training staff would determine if their rookie would be able to participate. But Baldwin Jr. is confident he’d be ready to play if given the option.
"Yeah I'm sure the Warriors' training staff will have a great say in what I do this summer,” Baldwin Jr. said. “But if the opportunity does present itself where I can play, I'm going to jump on that opportunity."
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The California Classic begins next Saturday, July 2, and the Las Vegas Summer League starts the following Friday, July 8. Health permitting, Baldwin Jr. could join an extremely intriguing Warriors summer league roster that could include fellow rookie Ryan Rollins and recent draft picks James Wiseman, Jonathan Kuminga, and Moses Moody.