Warriors assign Patrick Baldwin Jr. to the G League

Back he goes.

It shouldn’t be any surprise that Patrick Baldwin Jr. is riding the Santa Cruz shuttle this year, and it’s once again leaving the station. On Wednesday the Golden State Warriors announced that Baldwin has been assigned to the G League’s Santa Cruz Warriors, effective immediately.

This was a pretty predictable move. The Dubs just finished an eight-game home stand, and are now hitting the road as they prepare for a five-game road trip in which they’ll visit the San Antonio Spurs, Chicago Bulls, Washington Wizards, Boston Celtics, Cleveland Cavaliers, and the White House.

With wings Andrew Wiggins and Andre Iguodala having returned on Saturday — and the returns of forwards Jonathan Kuminga and JaMychal Green likely happening soon — the Warriors were no longer in need of the emergency depth that Baldwin provided.

The 28th pick in June’s NBA Draft, Baldwin played his most extensive role recently as the Warriors were hit by roughly a bazillion injuries. He played more than 23 minutes in a December 21 loss to the Brooklyn Nets, totaling a career-high 17 points and shooting 5-for-8 from distance. Starting with that game, Baldwin has shot 17-for-36 from the field and 14-for-28 from three-point range over his last five games.

During that time he’s really started to look like a player that could be a significant part of the rotation as soon as next season.

In 10 games in the G League, the rookie is averaging 10.9 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 1.1 assists per game. We’ll see him back in San Francisco before long.