Getty Ryan Rollins brings up the ball in a Golden State Warriors preseason game.
The Golden State Warriors are sending both of their rookies down to the G League in what will likely be a search for the playing time they’re not finding with the big club.
The team announced on Sunday that rookies Patrick Baldwin Jr. and Ryan Rollins had been assigned to the G League Santa Cruz Warriors. The move came after the Warriors held on to defeat the Sacramento Kings 130-125, a game in which the Kings nearly erased a 26-point deficit and Golden State’s rookies combined for just one minute of playing time.
Warriors Rookies Headed to Santa Cruz
Baldwin and Rollins have both remained outside of head coach Steve Kerr’s normal rotation this season. Through the team’s 2-1 start, neither have seen any minutes outside of garbage time. Baldwin suffered a thumb injury and missed the first two games of the season. He was eligible to play in Sunday’s win over the Kings, but didn’t leave the bench.
Rollins has played just three total minutes this season, notching one rebound and one assist in the season-opening win over the Los Angeles Lakers. Both Rollins and Baldwin are still waiting to score their first NBA points.
The two rookies have a light basketball resume even before joining the Warriors. Baldwin was once a highly touted high school prospect, but injuries cut short his only season of college basketball at UW-Milwaukee. The Warriors took him with the No. 28 pick, with many insiders considering him an NBA project.
PBJ & Ryan Rollins out here for their scheduled 4p pregame workout. This was Moses & JK last season. The rooks always get the earliest slot.
PBJ won’t play tonight. He told me his finger is “getting there.”
Rollins played just two seasons at Toledo before entering the 2022 NBA Draft, averaging 16.4 points through 64 total games in college. The Warriors traded up to take him with the No. 44 overall pick and showed commitment by giving him a guaranteed contract, but a stress fracture in his foot limited his work with the team this summer.
More Opportunity Awaits in G League
The demotion will likely give Baldwin and Rollins the chance to get more time on the court. The Warriors took a similar approach with last year’s pair of lottery picks, Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody. While both eventually cracked the rotation and played important roles during the team’s run through the NBA playoffs, they also spent long stretches with Santa Cruz earlier in the season.
As Kerr explained last season, the team took advantage of the short distance between San Francisco and Santa Cruz and took as many opportunities as they could to get playing time for the rookies.
“There will be plenty of nights where we’re off and in town in the Bay, and Santa Cruz has a game, and there will be plenty of nights where our young guys will go down and play,” Kerr said in November 2021, via USA Today’s Rookie Wire.
The Athletic’s Anthony Slater reported that Baldwin and Rollins will be joining the Santa Cruz Warriors for training camp while Golden State travels to Phoenix for a game against the Suns. Santa Cruz starts its regular season on November 2.
As SI.com’s Brett Siegel noted, this year’s pair of rookies will likely spend significant chunks of time in Santa Cruz.
“Both Baldwin and Rollins will move back-and-forth this season between Santa Cruz and Golden State, much like how other young talents on this team have been moved for developmental purposes through the years,” he reported.