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Draft Preview: Wade Baldwin

(Editor’s note: The Pistons hold the No. 18 and No. 49 picks in the June 23 NBA draft. We’ll preview one candidate for each pick each Monday through Friday leading up to the draft. Players who are consensus lottery picks unavailable to the Pistons will not be profiled.)

FIRST-ROUND CANDIDATE: Wade Baldwin

ID CARD: 6-foot-4 point guard, Vanderbilt sophomore, 20 years old

DRAFT RANGE: Ranked 15th on DraftExpress.com; 20th on ESPN.com

SCOUTS LOVE: Baldwin knocks down open shots and has plus size (6-foot-4, 202 pounds as measured at the NBA draft combine) and strength for a point guard, especially considering his long arms. He went to Vanderbilt, so you’d expect Baldwin to possess strong verbal skills and that’s exactly what he displayed in interviews at the NBA draft combine in Chicago. He comes across as intelligent and affable. Baldwin made 40 percent of his 3-point shots as a Vanderbilt sophomore, taking about one-third of his shots from the arc. He also took six free throws a game, a very good number.

SCOUTS WONDER: As Baldwin matures physically, will his quickness and explosion improve enough to make him an effective penetrator who can not only get to the rim but finish at a better rate than he exhibited in his two college seasons? He’s a willing and solid passer, but probably won’t be an especially creative playmaker. Can his ballhandling and vision improve over time – as you’d expect for a 20-year-old – to turn him into a player who could eventually be more than a backup point guard?

NUMBER TO NOTE: 6-foot-11¼, Baldwin’s wing span, which would be good for a small forward and not at all unusual for a power forward. It gives Baldwin a chance to be a very disruptive force defensively in deflecting passes and limiting passing lanes and angles, making it difficult for the opposition point guard to execute simple entry passes.

MONEY QUOTE: “He’s far from a finished product, which creates a player with considerable room for growth, but also one who could ultimately become frustrating if he never reaches his full potential. Baldwin’s propensity for accepting coaching, becoming a positive teammate and overall mental makeup will play a major role in his ability to reach his ceiling.” – DraftExpress.com

PISTONS FIT: The Pistons will be in the market for at least one and possibly two point guards this off-season to back up Reggie Jackson. They’re likely to sign a veteran free agent, one Stan Van Gundy says ideally would be a part of the long-term puzzle for the Pistons. If they draft a point guard at 18, perhaps they’d be more inclined to look at a shorter-term veteran to back up Jackson for a year or two and allow the No. 1 pick time to ascend to backup status. Because Baldwin has ideal size, he would also give the Pistons the opportunity to play alongside Jackson to give them the defensive flexibility to switch or cross-match.

BOTTOM LINE: With nearly five weeks remaining before the draft, it’s tough to get a much more specific idea if Baldwin will be available at 18 than 50-50. Teams will scan his college game tapes scrupulously to gauge his quickness, vision, explosion and decision making. The Pistons interviewed Baldwin – as well as two other potential first-round draft candidates at point guard, Demetrius Jackson and Tyler Ulis – at the Chicago combine. He seems like a strong candidate to be invited to Auburn Hills for a predraft workout, as well. Whether he accepts the invitation will be instructive as to the feedback Baldwin’s agent, Joel Cornette, receives from other teams regarding whether they expect him to be drafted ahead of 18.

Second-Round Candidate: Jake Layman

Jake Layman

ID CARD: 6-foot-9 forward, Maryland senior, 22 years old

DRAFT RANGE: Ranked 49th by DraftExpress.com; 50th by ESPN.com

SCOUTS LOVE: Layman passes the eye test pretty easily. He’s got terrific size for a small forward at 6-foot-9¼ in shoes as measured at the NBA draft combine, a solid frame to add good weight and outstanding athleticism, including a 39½ -inch vertical leap. He also has the shooting stroke (50 percent overall shooter, 39 percent from the 3-point line as a senior) to project as a stretch four as he matures physically.

SCOUTS WONDER: As well as Layman moves and jumps, he hasn’t yet shown he can be much more than a shooter. His rebounding numbers were modest, 5.3 a game in 31 minutes as a Maryland senior, for a player with his size and athletic profile. With three or four other NBA prospects in the Maryland lineup around him and the ball dominated by Melo Trimble, Layman didn’t have tons of opportunities but didn’t show much in the way of an off-the-dribble game.

NUMBER TO NOTE: 7.8. That’s the number of shot attempts per game for Layman as a senior at Maryland, a remarkably low figure for a three-year starter and, in fact, two shots per game less than Layman averaged as a sophomore when he established himself as an NBA prospect.

MONEY QUOTE: “Layman has first-round talent but often he has been an afterthought in Maryland’s offense. There’s a ton of talent on the team and at times Layman has been content to fit in.” – ESPN.com

PISTONS FIT: Stan Van Gundy is always interested in shooting, so Layman brings that appeal. He interviewed with the Pistons at the Chicago draft combine, so there’s at least some level of interest. Van Gundy will look for the other qualities he values – basketball IQ, toughness, awareness defensively – as he studies college game tape on Layman. Determining whether Layman possesses the qualities to eventually play both forward spots and potentially grow into a productive stretch four appears his surest path to a role.

BOTTOM LINE: At 49, the odds get pretty long for a player to have a lasting NBA career. Layman has the tools. In the right system, he could flourish. Given Van Gundy’s track record of identifying what a player does best and putting him in situations to draw out those strengths, he’s a player who could eventually become either a solid 3-and-D bench player or a stretch four – or, best case – someone versatile enough to fill both roles.