Portland Trail Blazers, Wade Baldwin agree to two-way contract

The Portland Trail Blazers use their second two-way contract on guard Wade Baldwin.

The Portland Trail Blazers have brought a new player into the fold about a week after cutting their three training camp invites. The team signed second-year guard Wade Baldwin to a two-way contract on Thursday. ESPN‘s Adrian Wojnarowski reported the deal first. The Blazers confirmed via press release shortly thereafter.

Baldwin’s new contract pays him to play in the G-League, but also allows him to spend up to 45 days on the NBA roster. Portland doesn’t have a G-League affiliate and hasn’t revealed plans on getting one anytime soon. Therefore, the Blazers will have determine which team to send him to.

The Memphis Grizzlies selected Baldwin No. 17 overall in the 2016 NBA Draft. The 2016 All-SEC Second Teamer was primed to be the backup point guard to Mike Conley. Unfortunately, Baldwin failed to gain traction with the Grizzlies. He eventually fell out of the rotation in favor of Aaron Harrison.

Baldwin played 33 NBA games as a rookie, averaging 3.2 points, 1.8 assists and 1.4 rebounds per game. He shot 31.3 percent from the field and 13.6 percent from beyond the arc.

Instead, the Grizzlies would send Baldwin down to the D-League for development. They assigned him to their then-affiliate Iowa Energy five times during the season. He played 33 games, starting 22. Baldwin fared better at this level, averaging 12.9 points, 5.3 assists and 1.3 steals per game. He shot 43.5 percent from the field and 30.7 percent from three.

It was fair to expect Baldwin would get a second season with the Grizzlies to show his growth. However, on Oct. 16, the team waived him and Rade Zagorac in favor of Mario Chalmers and Jarell Martin. Baldwin’s release made him yet another Grizzlies draft pick from this decade that didn’t pan out in Memphis.

Wade Baldwin is 6-4, 202 pounds and sports a 6-11 wingspan. These measurements allow him to both play and defend the point guard and shooting guard positions. The key flaws in his game, however, are his inconsistency and his issues with finishing at the rim. Baldwin shot 36.4 percent from within eight feet of the rim last season at the NBA level. He shot 50.8 percent from the same distance in the D-League.

It’s hard to immediately tell what Portland intends to do with Baldwin moving forward. However, this deal could be seen as an audition for the backup point guard spot.

Shabazz Napier currently plays that role and does so fairly well. However, the 26-year-old will be a restricted free agent this summer. The Blazers would have to extend a $3.5 million qualifying offer to retain the right of first refusal. Baldwin, at 21 years old, could be a younger, cheaper option for the position if he plays well this season.

Next: 2017-18 Week 1 NBA Power Rankings

Things did not work out for Wade Baldwin with the Memphis Grizzlies, but he has received a second chance with the Portland Trail Blazers. We’ll see if he can make the most of his two-way contract this season.