The Trail Blazers will retain guard Wade Baldwin and guarantee his contract for next season, Joe Freeman of The Oregonian reports.
Baldwin’s $1,544,951 salary will be guaranteed once he remains on the roster through Thursday. Baldwin will claim the 15th spot on the roster and center Georgios Papagiannis is expected to be waived, Freeman adds. The team also had a Thursday deadline to guarantee Papagiannis’ salary.
Baldwin solidified his roster spot with a strong showing in the summer league. The former first-round pick by the Grizzlies joined Portland last season on a two-way contract after Memphis waived him, then received a standard contract in March. He played seven regular-season games with the Trail Blazers last season after playing in 33 games with the Grizzlies.
He then appeared in three of Portland’s four postseason games against the Pelicans. Baldwin earned spot duty in the rotation with his tenacious on-ball defense, Freeman notes.
Papagiannis appeared in just one game with Portland last season after seeing action in 38 games over two seasons with the Kings.
Waived by Memphis… 1 year after being their #1 pick! Is Baldwin why Portland let their efficient backup guards go.
Looks can be deceiving…Baldwin should never been picked by Grizzlies that high. He disappointed in his 2 seasons by not showing any improvement. Don’t expect him to be anything more that bench cover.
On the other hand, something can happen to some guys who were performing and acting like they deserved to be there, then they get kicked around and the light turns on. Lets hope that’s the case with Baldwin, it certainly looks that way.
I remember in 2016 when Suns made the selection at 13 for Kings that Papagiannis would be a bust. Two years later and now he’s out of the league.
Don’t think Baldwin will play much, with the logjam in the guard position that Portland has got, probably was retained for his min salary, surely the best of him.