NBA Draft 2022: Draft grades for all 1st round pick selections
28. Golden State Warriors – F Patrick Baldwin Jr. (Milwaukee Panthers) – Draft Grade: A
The reigning NBA champs have the luxury of taking a big swing on a prospect at this point in the draft and what bigger risk than the 6’9 forward and former five-star prospect? Baldwin would be going from a bad team and environment to one of the golden standard organizations in all of sports in Golden State. Baldwin would benefit from playing with the splash brothers and gives the Warriors a stretch forward to work with. It could become the next great draft pick for the team.
29. Houston Rockets – G TyTy Washington Jr. (Kentucky Wildcats) – Draft Grade: A
The former Kentucky starting guard had lottery potential but slide all the way to 29. That’s Houston’s gain, as they land a capable ball-handler that can easily get into the rotation and an outside shot of being a lead guard if Washington proves he can run an offense at the NBA level.
30. Denver Nuggets – Wing Peyton Watson (UCLA Bruins) – Draft Grade: B+
Going after Watson makes more sense than Braun in the first round for Denver and his potential is much higher. He didn’t play much at UCLA behind the incumbent wings but he’s a former five-star recruit that could be a stud on both ends of the court.
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In a way, Watson can be Denver’s latest “project” and spend some time in the G League to develop before eventually being part of the future rotation. After spending most of his time on the bench as a freshman, Watson needs more reps but the raw talent is still there, and had he played somewhere else and got on the floor more, could’ve ended up in the lottery in this draft.