Steve Kerr admitted late last month that Patrick Baldwin Jr., as many heads as he turned with the Golden State Warriors this summer after being selected with the 28th overall pick of the NBA draft, would likely spend his rookie season riding the bench. But that was two days prior to the 19-year-old acquitted himself well as the defending champions began training camp, and more than a before Baldwin dropped 12 second-half points—all on triples—in the Warriors' comeback victory over the Washington Wizards to close out their preseason trip to Tokyo.

Has such an objectively positive start to Baldwin's tenure with Golden State changed things now that his debut campaign is officially underway? Not quite. Even in the same breath as continuing to temper expectations for Baldwin in 2022-23, though, Kerr couldn't help but continue greasing the hype machine after Wednesday's practice.

The Warriors have praised Baldwin's understanding of the game and overall composure en masse since he was healthy enough to get back on the court during the offseason. Fully healthy after a nagging left ankle injury suffered his senior year of high school marred Baldwin's freshman season at Wisconsin-Milwaukee, the 6'9 forward is showing off the blend of size, shooting touch and two-way poise that once made him a consensus top-five prospect as a prep.

But just because Baldwin already has the know-how and floor-stretching ability to play multiple positions for Golden State hardly means he'll get that opportunity on a regular basis this season. Like fellow rookie Ryan Rollins, Baldwin will spend most of his first year in the league honing his craft in practice and pre-game workouts as opposed to game action, perhaps getting a stint or two with the G-League's Santa Cruz Warriors.

Baldwin is stuck firmly behind Draymond Green, Andrew Wiggins, Jonathan Kuminga and JaMychal Green in the Warriors' pecking order at forward. The flexibility they have to play smaller and bigger lineups as Kerr sees fit further complicates Baldwin's path to minutes, too.

But don't worry, Dub Nation. A nondescript rookie season won't keep Baldwin from ultimately living up to such encouraging early returns at some point in his career, perhaps as soon as 2023-24.

[95.7 The Game]