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Wade Baldwin IV may fill the Detroit Pistons’ point guard needs

By Duncan Smith

Mar 15, 2016; Dayton, OH, USA; Vanderbilt Commodores guard Wade Baldwin IV (4) reacts during the second half against the Wichita State Shockers of the First Four of the NCAA men
Mar 15, 2016; Dayton, OH, USA; Vanderbilt Commodores guard Wade Baldwin IV (4) reacts during the second half against the Wichita State Shockers of the First Four of the NCAA men /
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The Detroit Pistons have a glaring need at point guard with no NBA-caliber players ready to go in relief of starter Reggie Jackson. Wade Baldwin IV may fill that need.

It’s no secret that the Detroit Pistons have a desperate need at the point guard position. After you get by Reggie Jackson on the depth chart, there’s basically nothing. Steve Blake got the most minutes at backup point this past season, and he is both a free agent after this season and also completely washed up at the age of 36 years old.

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Spencer Dinwiddie has been a disappointment over the first two years of his NBA career, playing just 46 games with the Pistons and averaging 13 minutes in his appearances and 4.4 points per game. Dinwiddie may be with the team next year, but that’s only because he has a guaranteed $980,000 due him this season. With the salary cap exploding, however, dead money under a million dollars may mean less to the Pistons than does an extra vacant roster spot if the Pistons decide to give him his release.

While the Pistons may opt to address this gaping hole through free agency, there are possibilities projected in the late teens of the NBA draft as well. Perhaps the best possible option that may be available when the Pistons pick at 18 is Wade Baldwin IV.

Baldwin is a 6-foot-4, 202 lbs point guard out of Vanderbilt. He has a wingspan near seven feet, measuring in at 6-foot-11.25, giving him length well above average for his position.

He’s 20 years old and averaged 14.1 points and 5.2 assists per game in his sophomore season, and he shot 40.6 percent from three point range . That’s a number that will of course come down at the NBA level, but it should settle in at a percentage on the high side of the league average from long range.

He also shoots 42.6 percent from the field, with two-thirds of his shots coming from inside the arc, and he shoots 79.9 percent from the free throw line.

Baldwin has already met with the Pistons, and says that head coach and president of basketball operations Stan Van Gundy really likes him. According to the following clip, the meeting between Baldwin and the Pistons was a success.

Baldwin played at Saint Joseph High School with this season’s NBA Rookie of the Year, Karl-Anthony Towns in Metuchen, New Jersey, and also played with Towns in middle school.

For more facts and figures on Baldwin, check out this article in the Tennessean on the young point guard prospect.

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