Official: Red Star Sign NBA Scorer Patrick Baldwin Jr
Belgrade's red and whites have confirmed the arrival of forward Patrick Baldwin Jr, a player from the Sacramento Kings organization, as a fresh EuroLeague addition and the next step in their summer rebuild.
- Red Star Belgrade have officially announced the arrival of forward Patrick Baldwin Jr.
- Baldwin joins from the organization of NBA side the Sacramento Kings.
- Last season, according to media reports, he averaged over 20 points per game with rebounds and assists.
- He is the club's second signing of the day and part of an ongoing summer roster build.
The phone in the red and whites’ locker room barely stopped ringing today. A center arrived in the morning, and before the fans could even break down that move, another name landed. A wing from America, out of an NBA club’s organization, has packed his bags for Belgrade. Red Star confirmed what had been buzzing around the stands and group chats for days.
The player is Patrick Baldwin Jr, an offensive-minded forward coming out of the Sacramento Kings system. The club posted the announcement briefly and without much fanfare, the way you do it when the deal is already done. Baldwin is a new addition for a EuroLeague season that puts a high target in front of the red and whites and an even bigger expectation on the home crowd.
What does Baldwin bring to the floor?
The first thing that jumps out about Baldwin is his offensive profile. According to media reports, last season he averaged over 20 points per game in the Kings’ development system, with a solid number of rebounds and the occasional assist. This is not a player who hides in the corner waiting for someone to feed him the ball, but a wing who hunts his chances and knows how to cash in once he finds his rhythm.
For Red Star, a team that too often stalls precisely on offense in the EuroLeague, that profile makes sense. A wing who can create a bucket on his own changes the math of a short bench in a crowded EuroLeague calendar. When the main option breaks down, it helps to have someone who can take the ball and solve the possession off his own hand.
Of course, there is the other side of the coin too. The EuroLeague is not the NBA development league. The pace is different, the defense tougher, and the space on the floor far tighter. Plenty of players have arrived from across the ocean with eye-catching numbers only to struggle to translate them into the European language of basketball. Baldwin will have to catch that tempo quickly, because a season with these ambitions rarely comes with much patience.
What gives this move extra weight is the context. Baldwin is not a standalone signing but part of a wider plan. This summer Red Star have made it clear they are building a team that cannot lean on two or three go-to men, but on a deeper rotation able to survive a marathon of some 30 EuroLeague rounds plus the domestic competition.
Have Red Star finally solved their wing problem?
The wing spot has for years been where the red and white roster fluctuated the most. Sometimes it shone there, sometimes it struggled to find the right balance between defense and attack. Bringing in a player like Baldwin is a signal that the front office takes that department seriously and does not want to head into the season with the same question mark.
The next step is to see how Baldwin fits the coach’s system, in which slot he earns his first minutes, and how quickly he adjusts to the European officiating standard. The real test only comes once the lights come on in a packed arena and the opponent starts to close down every gap. Until then, this is a move that looks good on paper and gives the fans a reason to smile.
So, how do you view this addition, is Baldwin exactly the wing Red Star were missing for a EuroLeague step forward?
