Wade Baldwin cites reasons for changing teams, addresses 'bad guy' reputation / News - Basketnews.com

Wade Baldwin sat with BasketNews for an all-encompassing discussion on Maccabi, his struggling days at Olympiacos, and personal highs with Bayern and Baskonia. The American guard explained why he changes teams every year, addressed the nasty comments about him, and specified on which conditions he'd consider returning to the NBA.

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Four teams, four seasons, and four visits to the OAKA arena to face Panathinaikos Athens. The first three ended badly, but last Friday, Wade Baldwin thought he had things figured out.

Olympiacos Piraeus / Schedule

Virtus Segafredo Bologna Olympiacos Piraeus83-85 Olympiacos Piraeus Real MadridFri19:00

In his first experience, back in December 2019, he was a EuroLeague rookie trying to gain the confidence of a coach he barely knew and who essentially didn't believe in him.

Still, Kestutis Kemzura, the Lithuanian tactician who had been David Blatt's assistant at Olympiacos Piraeus before the Israeli-American coach was dismissed in October of that same year, had Baldwin on the court in the closing minutes of what's widely regarded as the most heated derby around Europe.

Olympiacos took the lead over Panathinaikos Athens late in regulation, and with the guests up two (86-84), Giorgos Papagiannis received the ball down the post. Wade Baldwin had the chance to foul and send the Greek center to the free-throw line, where he had to make both attempts to tie the contest.

But the American guard chose to play defense, thus becoming easy prey for Papagiannis, who posted up, scored, and sent the game to overtime.

At the end of a historical showdown, Tyrese Rice had recorded a new club record of 41 points, but most Olympiacos fans were mad at Baldwin for allowing PAO to survive.

However, one of the most memorable derbies between the two Greek powerhouses ended up being void of significance since two months later, the season was cut short due to the COVID outbreak.

That doesn't mean Wade Baldwin's story with the Greens was over. In the years that followed, the athletic combo guard extended his streak of home wins and away losses against PAO while playing for FC Bayern Munich, Cazoo Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz, and Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv.

2-pointers this season

54%22,4Points made:22,4Accuracy:54,3%Place in standings:1Record max:28Record min:16Most made 2FGs:Lorenzo BrownTeamEuroLeagueStatisticsSchedule

His last defeat at OAKA brought back some memories from 2019. Not because Baldwin didn't foul but because he missed the jump shot that could have tied the game and possibly avoided another away loss for Maccabi.

In the last play, Baldwin crossed Nate Wolters over, making him lose balance, and took a good look at the basket, but he still misfired.

The team coached by Oded Kattash needed a 3-point shot to get the win. However, Baldwin could hardly have been the man to take it, as he had missed 20 of his last 21 attempts beyond the arc.

"It came down to the last shot. My team was confident in me taking it. I was confident myself. I miss that shot one out of ten times, and tonight it was one out of those ten," Wade Baldwin told BasketNews, just outside Maccabi's locker room at OAKA.

As the contest was reaching its dying moments, Panathinaikos were sitting on an assuring 83-74 lead, thanks to Dwayne Bacon's late resurgence. The prolific scorer produced 10 points in less than three minutes before Maccabi responded with a 10-0 run that vaulted them into contention.

Derrick Williams hit the game-winner for PAO, but Baldwin had high praise for those who decided the game.

"Dwayne Bacon is a tough player to cover, being the scorer that he is. I think we answered, and Williams had a big shot, breaking down our defense," he explained.

Baldwin joined Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv on a two-year deal, making the Israeli team his fourth club in as many years in the EuroLeague. Last year in Vitoria, he posted 14.1 points per game to go along with 4.4 assists, 3.3 rebounds, and 1.1 steals.

"Wade is one of the top guards in the EuroLeague and possesses extraordinary physical skills," head coach Oded Kattash praised his newcomer. "He plays well on both ends of the court and brings tenacity and aggressiveness."

Baldwin says he's feeling very well in Tel Aviv while adjusting to a different style of play.

"There are a lot of good players and good guys on this team. I'm the main creator this season, and I must feel the game. I love it."

The American guard is posting 14.1 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 4.0 assists for a PIR of 12.9 per contest. However, he had to miss out on four EuroLeague games due to injury, and the clash with PAO was also part of the recovery process.

"It was tough being out for a month, trying to come back and find a rhythm. The game vs. Panathinaikos helped me because I saw the ball go through the net," Baldwin thinks.

"I know that I can move how I want. The past games had been a bit of a tester, but now I feel like I can hit all gears. We want to move along after this."

Credit Euroleague Basketball via Getty Images

Maccabi are currently 10-9 in the EuroLeague and leading the Winner League standings (11-2). Baldwin is certain his new team can make a splash in the top continental competition and achieve their minimum goal.

"This is a special club. They're treating us nothing but great," he says.

"We want to get to the playoffs, and we're right there. Each game is competitive, and we're teetering around 7-8-9th ranked. We're right there. We have confidence that in the end, we'll be there because we're a tough team to play against. I'm happy that I'm a part of this club."

Even though Maccabi fans have been following their team through thick and thin, at home and away games alike, the Israeli powerhouse has only won two of its ten road games in the EuroLeague.

By comparison, they're 8-1 in Tel Aviv, boasting the best record among all teams and presenting the 4th-highest attendance with 10,460 spectators per night.

"I think you have to give a lot of credit to the fanbase that we have. It's one of the best in the EuroLeague. I said it first and foremost. Even tonight, they supported us all along," Baldwin acknowledges.

On the other hand, there has to be an explanation for this big disparity in the team's results.

"It's the EuroLeague, man. It's tough to play at home crowds for everybody. There's accountability, but not much to say. We have to figure it out and finish out the season on a strong note," Baldwin affirms.

Credit Seffi Magriso/Euroleague Basketball via Getty Images

From that point on, BasketNews' conversation with Wade Baldwin took another, more interesting turn, as the former Memphis and Portland guard touched on other topics, with his alleged bad reputation topping the list.

The controversy started when Baldwin had an altercation with Will Cherry, his teammate at the time, during an Olympiacos' practice in January 2020. Cherry's contract was terminated, but Baldwin stayed with the team until the end of the season (March).

"We had an altercation in practice that led to me leaving. There were no punches. It was a simple practice scuffle. There was just some pushing and shoving. The club was up in flames at that point," remembered Will Cherry talking to germanhoops.com.

In fact, the American guard, now playing for MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg, called Olympiacos' stance 'unprofessional' and his release 'not warranted.'

But that was only the beginning. Two years on, after a Joventut Badalona-Baskonia game for the Spanish league, Brandon Paul took a jab at his ex-teammate, adding more fuel to the fire.

"I'm a professional first, but I'm never going for another man who tries to spit in my face. I kept my mouth shut for three years on this coward," Paul wrote on his Twitter account without naming Baldwin.

"Ask anyone about his character, and they’ll tell you. Ask any single person on 2019-20 Olympiacos, and they'll tell you in a heartbeat. I bet my salary on it. I still hate how they did my brother Will Cherry when Wade tried him too; ask anyone about that."

"Ask any of the Americans about him and his girl," Brandon Paul carried on. "How they kept a burner IG account and tried to lie about another man's wife and me. We've still got the group chat with all of the receipts/screenshots, all the lies, and deceit," Paul continued.

"I haven’t done anything but try to help this kid," he pointed out.

"Ask my former teammates why I had to stop inviting this dude to my crib in Athens. (He was) constantly breaking shit and arguing with everyone, killing the vibes. My crib out there was mad expensive too," Paul concluded.

In an interview with the German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) last October, Bayern Munich GM Daniele Baiese was asked some tough questions about Wade Baldwin's behavior.

"In the summer of 2020, you signed Wade Baldwin, who had such a bad reputation at the time that staff from other clubs also texted you and asked: 'What are you doing?'. What does a team need to be able to handle a player like him, who sometimes yelled at his teammates?" journalist Christopher Meltzer asked the Italian executive.

Credit imago images/Philippe Ruiz

"Wade was portrayed as a bad guy. But he was a good boy who did some bad things," Baiesi replied.

"Through him, we learned again that you always have to ask yourself why a player does bad things. If you keep talking to a player throughout a season, you’ll understand where that's coming from.

In the case of Wade, it was like this: he felt from the start that he would not be prejudiced in the team. The players and the coach accepted and understood him as he is."

In his interview with BasketNews, Baldwin says he helped Bayern Munich "make history" in the 2020-21 season, when Andrea Trinchieri's squad made the EuroLeague playoffs for the first time.

But in order to get there, it seems that the 26-year-old guard had to overcome all sorts of rumors about his behavior, which he addressed - among other things- in the discussion that lies below.

Do you feel that you've become a dominant player in European basketball?Yes, I've felt this since my year at Bayern. I've been carrying the momentum off that. We were a shot away from the Final Four two years ago.

There were a lot of critics of me last year in Baskonia, but I feel like the team was a bit different. We had some injuries, and we had COVID, but towards the season, when we had our full roster, we performed very well.

I think that was my best year out of the three that I've been here - better than my Bayern season. But the team wasn't as successful.

Now, coming to a different role with Maccabi, playing with Lorenzo [Brown], Bonzie [Colson], and all those good guys, it's about how much I can defend and how I can find a way of scoring while still being the creator.

With 11 new guys on the team, we're sitting at 10-9. We could be in a worse position. It's a tough league.

Are you satisfied with what the team has accomplished?I think we've let some games go. But that's to be expected when you have 11 new guys. We had a tough loss vs. Bologna and against Bayern in Munich.

Tonight's a stinker, man! We had control, took the momentum, and it all came down to the last shot. We'll be alright, though.

It's a delicate issue, but have you ever felt that you had to address rumors or things said about you? People were saying, 'Wade's a bad guy. He's done some bad things.'No, that bullshit only started in Greece. I've never had an issue anywhere else.

By whom?My first year in Greece.

Olympiacos locker room, you mean?That's it. Everywhere else has been fine. Every club I've played for has wanted me back. Everyone has wanted me to be a part of their club. It's been my choice to leave, and I've felt the support of all my teammates I've played with.

Didn't you feel the urge to respond? You saw what some of your ex-teammates said about you on Twitter.I'm as good as it gets. High-character guy, a competitor. Everybody wants a guy like me on their team. My teammates expressed it all the time in the past three seasons. Everybody has full confidence in me. I'm a funny guy, man. I don't know what else to say.

How do you see this season panning out?The season is halfway done. We're in contention for the playoffs. The Israeli league is really competitive. We want to win both cups in Israel and make the EuroLeague playoffs. All of our goals are still achievable.

Do you think you'll return to the NBA anytime soon?It's all about the timing of the free agency. It's tough. You have high-level offers over here, and timing is everything. I don't want to go to the NBA and be a guy on a random roster.

I want to have a role because I'm entering the prime of my career. I'm 26 now, still one of the younger guys in the EuroLeague. I'm playing my best basketball, and I want to be on the floor, playing, impacting the game, and being in more moments like this: down two, with me taking the game-winning shot.

Isn't it tempting to play in front of your family and friends?Of course. My dream is to be in the NBA. But basketball is a business at the end of the day, and you have to maneuver it properly.

Do you have an explanation for the fact that many former EuroLeague guards didn't get to stay in the NBA?Since I've been out here, there's been no guard - except for [Facundo] Campazzo - who's signed a guaranteed contract going into the summer. I've told myself I'm not going to put myself in the position of doing non-guaranteed. I know Pangos, Vildoza, and Dorsey did it.

The only one before I came out here that got a guaranteed contract after his year in Fenerbahce was Brad Wanamaker - and he stayed there. You want to look for an opportunity to get a fully guaranteed contract.

A lot of guys tested out, and they didn't get it. That's something I don't want to be a part of.

Is it about European big men being more in demand in the NBA?Everyone's situation is different. I have a family and two kids right now. It's tough going and living in America, and then, in January, if a team doesn't want me, having to find a new place over here.

I've built incredible momentum in Europe, a brand of myself. I think clubs feel confident in me being a main player for their team. I want to keep building on that.

My ultimate goal right now is to get to the Final Four. Once I get there, I think opportunities will open up everywhere.

But it's hard to change teams and countries every year, isn't it?No, it hasn't been hard. When I'll be 50 years old, I can look back and say that I've lived in four different countries. It's going to be a lesson. It's one life you live, it's basketball. I'm getting paid to play the game I love, and I'm visiting all these countries. I'm having fun while doing that.

Wouldn't you prefer to find a place you'd call home? A long-term deal?Absolutely you want to do that. Over the past two years, I've had opportunities to do it. I've chosen to move on.

Why?I just felt like each situation was a little bit different. I loved my time at Bayern, but at that point, I was looking to get a bit more money. And then, I moved to Baskonia.

And after Baskonia?Same deal. And you know, it's hard to say no to Tel Aviv. It's an awesome place, one of the best clubs, great people. I believe in the roster and vision of what they want to do.

Is there anything about your Olympiacos days that you wish you'd handled differently?No. I was brought in, and after the first game (vs. LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne in France), David Blatt was fired. He was the guy who pretty much brought me over to Europe.

Credit Panagiotis Moschandreou/Euroleague Basketball via Getty Images

The assistant coach at the time [Kestutis Kemzura], after the second game, told me I needed to find another team. So, I had two games to prove myself, and that was it.

It's tough, man. You got this European experience [to deal with], and there are different coaches that have different philosophies in what they like in players.

But you're a different player now, aren't you?I'm the same player. It was just a situation where the coach didn't feel that I could help the team. That's what he liked, and he told me to find a new team.

It was tough staying out for almost six weeks, not being a part of the team, and not dressing up for games. It was my first year in Europe. That was really tough. But I got a second opportunity with Bayern, and we made history with that club.

Credit Passion2Press/MarkusxFischer

How was coach Trinchieri?The best coach I've had in my career.

Why?He gave me a chance when no other teams did.

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