Wade Baldwin has an itch he’s been dying to scratch for quite some time.
Ever since he saw members of his high school class, players he spent his childhood competing against, enter the NBA, reaching that same goal is all he has been able to think about.
“The moment of growing and coming of age for me was seeing those guys who I played against that are in my class walk across that stage,” Baldwin said at the NBA combine. “I was left wanting to be a part of that. Feeling like that should be me, that needs to be me.”
While many of Baldwin’s peers, such as D’Angelo Russell, Emmanuel Mudiay, and Karl-Anthony Towns have already experienced the elation of hearing their name called by NBA commissioner Adam Silver, Baldwin instead returned to Vanderbilt for his sophomore season, gaining the much-needed experience and seasoning to prove he can compete at the highest level.
Now, it’s his time to be in that spotlight.
“I want to lead right away, in any way that I can,” Baldwin said, noting that doing so would typically be difficult for a rookie. “Right now [my leadership style] is leading through action and trying to be the most intense guy, being the energy guy. What I need to get better at is being vocal.”
If Baldwin is to step right onto an NBA court and contribute, he’s going to have to be an impact defender to do so.
Baldwin’s defensive tools were on full display this week, despite the fact that he didn’t take part in the 5-on-5 portion of the combine. Part of what makes him unique is his size for the position, not only the fact that he stands just under 6-foot-3 without shoes, but also his enormous 6-11 1/4 wingspan.
To put in perspective just how unique that measurement is, Malik Beasley, projected to be a shooting guard in the NBA and who measured an inch taller than Baldwin, had a wingspan of 6-7. Baldwin’s wingspan was closer to that of small forward Jaylen Brown (6-11 3/4) than it is of your typical point guard prospect.
It’s that time of year where we can over-emphasize the measurable aspect of the draft process, spending an inordinate amount of time obsessing over how quickly players can run back and forth in the lane agility drills rather than relying on the functional athleticism scouts have seen them exhibit on the basketball court over their years playing college basketball.
Still, longer arms is a benefit for players, especially on the defensive side of the court, and it’s something that NBA teams are taking note of with Baldwin.
“I've been advised that I could possibly guard the 1-through-3 positions, because of my length,” Baldwin explained. “I think that's what makes me unique in this draft.”
That size, with a wingspan that’s almost unheard of for a point guard prospect, and a well-developed upper body that could take the physicality of defending NBA wing players, is part of what makes Baldwin intriguing. In a draft class that has a lot of uncertainty at the point guard spot after Kris Dunn, having a potential elite defender at the point of attack, especially one who could defend multiple positions and afford coaches the flexibility of cross-matching their defensive assignments on the perimeter, would be a big benefit to a team.
It’s also an interesting combination when you factor in how comfortable Baldwin is shooting in catch and shoot situations off the ball. While Baldwin sees himself as a point guard, that kind of versatility should help him get minutes early in his career.
“Using that size, if there's another good guard that's playing, say I'm on a team with a Russell Westbrook, maybe I'm not starting, but maybe I can play alongside of him being that combination guard,” Baldwin said.
With many teams in the NBA looking to run multiple point guard sets, or perhaps landing on a team runs their offense through their shooting guard, like the Rockets do with James Harden, having that kind of versatility should help Baldwin separate himself early on in his career.
Taking advantage
Another winner so far has been Saint Joseph’s forward DeAndre Bembry.
While the return of 5-on-5 basketball to the NBA combine over the past two seasons has been a welcomed change, actually getting the high-level talent to compete in such a setting has been difficult, with most of the top players under the impression that they have little to gain by doing so.
Bembry may have been the only first round prospect to compete in Thursday’s scrimmages, and he looked like it, finishing with 18 points, four rebounds, three assists, and a steal in 109-69 blowout victory to close out Thursday’s action.
The rest of Bembry’s day helped his stock as well, measuring with a wingspan just over 6-9 that should help him compete defensively, and interviewing well with the media. Still, his biggest win may be that in a climate that discourages potential first round picks from competing, Bembry willingly took on that challenge despite not having much to gain, and looked came out looking good because of it.
