With the #20 pick in the latest Sir Charles in Charge 2022 NBA Draft mock, the San Antonio Spurs–courtesy of the Boston Celtics–select Patrick Baldwin Jr. out of Milwaukee.
Ask yourself, Cs fans: are you happy with Derrick White instead?
Hardwood Houdini admittedly is. The Boston Celtics are loaded up for a postseason run with White and Daniel Theis in tow, and Baldwin Jr. is out for the season with a left ankle injury after starring for a losing team in the Horizon League.
SCIC’s Michael Saenz broke down the mock draft pick for the Spurs in his extensive mock draft, calling him a former top 10 player before the injury and a preceding body of work that ultimately underwhelmed at the mid-major level:
"With a third pick in the first round, the San Antonio Spurs are going to have a strong chance to restock the asset cabinet heading into the offseason. One potential player that the Spurs could target at this point in the draft is Patrick Baldwin Jr.Baldwin is averaging 12 points and six rebounds per game but is only shooting 34 percent shooting from the field overall and 27 percent shooting from 3-point range. He’s left much to be desired so far this season."
Despite a strong draft, the Boston Celtics are better off in win-now mode
The 2022 NBA Draft is going to have several generational talents taken in the lottery, but could be a strong one top to bottom in the first round.
But the way the current Cs roster is built–mainly around their two max contract stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown–makes draft picks secondary to the development of the current core. Payton Pritchard and Aaron Nesmith haven’t made much inroads to big minutes in their two seasons in Boston, and their last two international draft picks, Yam Madar and Juhann Begarin, haven’t even debuted yet and won’t in 2021-22.
Hopefully Baldwin recovers from injury woes that are afflicting him, but the Houdini is all about the moves Brad Stevens made…not suffering from FOMO in any form.