Babbitt is actually one of my favorite players. Yeah, as others have stated here, he definitely won't be available at #25, and at #12 I might just pull the trigger because I don't really like the late lotto/early teens portion of the draft in terms of value (well, if Greg Monroe drops here...). He has a solid enough wingspan, and surprisingly was actually one of the best leapers in this year's draft class as well, which definitely elevates his stock. He combines that leaping ability with very good strength, lateral quickness, and conditioning, which actually could make him a very good defender at the next level, provided he puts his mind into it. He's not fast in the open court, however. But he's very good at a number of key NBA indicators, which will make him stand out here and then some.
Get to his actual skills and you see a similar picture: he'll be a very good scorer in the next level, and where he'll make his money is that he's highly interesting offensively. He's far from a "mutual exclusion" sort of player, as Babbitt takes a lot of long 2-point jumpers (an excellent proposition, since he shoots extremely well on them), but he doesn't slash too often, nor does he finish well around the basket. In fact, he spends most of his day taking long 2's, despite the fact that he's decent at getting to the line and shoots very well from three (so that's an interesting decision). But, he's also decent at getting to the line (only six players used higher possessions and got there better than he did). Between his 89% free throw shooting, lights-out mid range shooting and 42% three point shooting for his career, I'd really call him one of the best shooters in the league the moment he steps out on the court. That will almost be a guaranteed asset for the team that drafts him. Moreover, an underappreciated quality of his game is that he's a very smart player (rarely turns the ball and fouls).
Babbitt, however, has quite a number of flaws that will limit him from becoming a star at the next level. A major gripe I have with him, in fact, is that despite the fact that he's very decent in many different athletic indicators, and the potential he might have defensively because of it, his team defense really needs severe work, and individually he struggles to intercept passes, so he doesn't really use his athleticism all that well. Also, he's not very active around the basket on the offensive side of the court, getting few dunks (despite his vertical) and tip-ins. He certainly is a very good defensive rebounder, a trait that enhances his shooting value (most shooters can't rebound, slash, or have the physical attributes he does). Finally, his impact is questionable: he hasn't really made his team better, and his team defense as mentioned has been very poor.
Overall, I'm really high on Babbitt, as the guy has a number of things that entice me. He's a pure shooter (probably will be one of the best in the league) but on top of that he gets to the line very solidly, has a number of good physical markers and rebounds on the defensive side of the ball very well--considering how shooters are a premium in the league, the fact that he combines three other very good NBA-appealing qualities means he'll definitely get drafted in the lottery. Moreover, his scoring is go-to guy sort of quality in this league, so I don't doubt that he can become a 17-20 point per game scorer in this league at all. Why he probably won't go further than 2nd fiddle or all-out star is because his defense, both individually and team, is quite questionable, as is his impact. Moreover, while he's a good all-around athlete, he doesn't maximize it in a number of areas, but will flash it from time to time with defensive rebounding and slashing, mostly.
I sense a lot of Mike Miller out of Babbitt actually, and if I recall Miller wasn't a good passer early in his career but developed it later on--and I think he has the goods to reach that ceiling. He's almost a certified upper echelon role player at the worst IMO, and I think if we see him at #12 we should definitely get him. Our SFs (Garcia, Nocioni) are injury prone/discontent/aging, and we could afford younger blood and a multifaceted pure shooter to pair with Reke, as that would complement him. The more I think about this, the more I like the idea.
Sorry for the gushing post, I just like this guy's game a lot.
)
