Patrick Baldwin Jr will need to prove himself before he earns a high rating
Last season, Patrick Baldwin Jr struggled to get minutes on a Golden State Warriors team that was trying to compete. However, he will likely see the floor three times as often with the Washington Wizards this season.
He is a high-quality shooter with upside in other areas on offense and even showed potential on defense during this year’s Summer League.
He has yet to really show any signs of aggressiveness on offense during his career but there are a few reasons for that. First, he was fresh off a rough injury coming into his rookie year. It would be understandable for him to take it easy to reduce risk of reinjuring his knee.
Second, a handful of young players leaving the Warriors in recent years have been passive on offense, especially big men. James Wiseman is the greatest example of this. He took half a season to start asserting himself in the post after he was traded to the Detroit Pistons. It’s very possible that Baldwin Jr is the same way.
Even with a solid Summer League outing, his rating is not likely to improve from last season simply due to lack of ability to prove himself so far in his young career. Last year he was a 72 overall and that is incredibly unlikely to change.