Indiana Pacers Draft Rumors: Team Eyeing Wade Baldwin IV?
By Kyle Nishida
With the NBA Draft about a month away, it is time to start speculating who the Indiana Pacers with the 20th overall pick.
This week, the Indiana Pacers have been conducting pre-draft workouts with a handful of prospects. So far, it has been tough to determine which player they might take with the 20th overall pick. However, one prospect stands out. That prospect is Wade Baldwin IV.
In many mock drafts, analysts believe Baldwin will be selected somewhere in the top 20. With the Pacers holding the 20th pick overall, they brought him for a workout on Wednesday.
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Baldwin was a two-year starter for the Vanderbilt Commodores. He was named to the SEC All-Freshmen team in his first season and was named to the All-SEC second team as a sophomore. Looking at his statistics, he certainly deserved these accolades.
He averaged 11.6 points and 4.8 assists in 68 games with the Commodores. Baldwin also shot 42.2% from behind the three-point line. He is very unselfish because he sets his teammates up for shots more often than he looks for his own shot.
While he has nice offensive skills, scouts are much more impressed with Baldwin’s defensive skills. He stands at 6’3”, but has a 6’10” wingspan. As a result, opponents have a tough time creating separation against him, and he can create a lot of steals. He averaged 1.8 steals per game and also used his length to pick up 4.1 rebound per game.
Some analysts believe the Pacers will have a chance at drafting at No. 20, like Sports Illustrated’s Andrew Sharp. Here is what he had to say about Baldwin in his recent mock draft.
"“Baldwin is a great example of the depth in this draft, and the wide variance of projections outside the top 10. His defense alone makes him enticing as a combo guard, and his potential on offense could convince someone to take a chance on him closer to 10 than 20. For now, I’m sticking with him on the Pacers as the heir to George Hill and an antidote to Monta Ellis.”"
It is pretty clear the Indiana Pacers need to make an upgrade at the point guard position. George Hill might be better served as a bench player while Rodney Stuckey and Ty Lawson seemingly do not have much of a future with the franchise. The Pacers could add a point guard in free agency, but if might be better for them to draft young playmaker with tremendous upside.
Baldwin could potentially be the Indiana Pacers’ upgrade at point guard. His skills defensively will allow him to play right away for the Pacers. It will take some time for Baldwin to adjust his offensive game to the NBA level. However, his physical traits and athleticism will help him be a nice contributor early until his offensive game develops.
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The Indiana Pacers will be scouting for more playmakers on offense over the next month. Baldwin certainly proved he could create offense for himself and his teammates in college. Additionally, he would be a better defensive presence than George Hill. Baldwin would be an excellent pick for the Pacers with the 20th overall pick.