Dec 3, 2016; Memphis, TN, USA; Memphis Grizzlies head coach David Fizdale talks with Memphis Grizzlies guard Wade Baldwin IV (4) during the first half against the Los Angeles Lakers at FedExForum. Mandatory Credit: Justin Ford-USA TODAY Sports
Despite Mike Conley’s injury, everything is going seemingly well for the Memphis Grizzlies, except for one thing: Wade Baldwin has yet to find his game. Is sending him to the NBA D-League their best bet?
With the 17th pick of the 2016 NBA Draft, the Memphis Grizzlies selected Wade Baldwin IV out of Vanderbilt. It was known that he was going to need a little bit of polishing, but would hopefully develop into a solid back up point guard behind Mike Conley. However, Baldwin has fallen out of favor behind Andrew Harrison and recently signed Toney Douglas, despite Conley going down to a back injury.
What’s the problem?
As noted by Ian Pierno, Wade came out of college seemingly a good shooter and passer.
Baldwin’s top attributes as a prospect were his shooting ability — he shot 43.6 percent from behind the arc during his college career — and savvy passing ability.
Despite that great percentage in college, Baldwin has yet to find his shot in the pros. His shooting is pretty abysmal at this point in the season. His per 36 minutes scoring numbers look like this:
| Season | G | FG% | 3P% | 2P% | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016-17 | 20 | .321 | .118 | .375 | 9.6 |
Baldwin currently ranks 342nd in the league in 3-point percentage, behind the likes of Kyle Singler.
On top of these awful shooting numbers, he also averages 3.7 turnovers per 36 minutes. He may earn 5.3 assists per 36 minutes, but the turnovers nearly negate that number. In last night’s game against Cleveland (sans Kyrie, LeBron and Love), Wade managed to have three turnovers in three minutes. He’s averaging a turnover on nearly a quarter of his possessions.
His current box plus/minus for the season is minus-5 and per 100 possessions, the team is minus-15.4.
Wade Baldwin just isn’t looking like an NBA player in this early stage of his career.
Give him some Energy
Dec 14, 2016; Memphis, TN, USA; Memphis Grizzlies guard Wade Baldwin IV (4) and Cleveland Cavaliers guard Kay Felder (20) reach for a loose ball in the second half at FedExForum. Memphis defeated Cleveland 93-85. Mandatory Credit: Nelson Chenault-USA TODAY Sports
Memphis is in win-now mode. Although all three are playing at a high level, the core of Zach Randolph, Mike Conley and Marc Gasol is aging. The Grizzlies are obviously looking to win it all in the near future and there isn’t a lot of time to bring players along. With Toney Douglas and Andrew Harrison proving themselves serviceable, why not send Wade Baldwin down to the D-League, especially once Conley returns? This, of course, would mean waiving Brandan Wright.
Baldwin has already been assigned to the Iowa Energy once this season, but for only two games. He averaged 18.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.00 steals in 26.8 minutes. A longer stint could do well not to only build his confidence, but give him more minutes while the Grizzlies can focus on winning.
Players have found success by waiting in the D-League. Look at how Hassan Whiteside has fared. Baldwin can take his time and although he’ll probably dominate like he was in his previous stint, it will allow him to get more shots up against a live defense and focus on taking better care of the ball. Baldwin could use the work and the Grizzlies can develop him while simultaneously concentrating on winning. It’s a win-win and something that they should strongly consider.
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