To actually answer the question, we drafted Babbitt because Nate wanted shooters, and he was supposedly one of the best in the draft. Since the guy can't even get off the bench on an extremely depleated team, I would say it has been a bad pick thus far. Nate's other gem that he wanted was Taurean Green. Maybe we should stop letting Nate make any basketball decisions?
And we don't have injuries now? Bottom line. We're depleted at SF since Cunningham has to play PF and Matthews is our SG. So if Luke could play at this level right now, his fanny would be out there on the court- period. jlprk, you can have all the man love for him you want, but he's not an NBA talent yet, And nobody knows if he ever will.
Batum had pro experience before getting here. Cunningham and Pendergraph were just placeholders as rookies. Whose minutes should be cut so that Babbitt can replace him? I don't see the lack of depth that you see. Johnson is carrying his weight to enough that Mills doesn't have to play. Substitute center is all I see lacking depth. Babbitt would have to learn a new position. He was a PF at Nevada. I don't love him, I'm just saying 16 games in, with a coach who doesn't like to play rookies, this isn't unusual.
And we all know that Nate is loathe to play rookies, but will do so when necessary- and he has consistently proven that. Now, we have all the backup minutes for Batum up for grabs with Roy & Pendy gone (Cunningham is playing nearly exclusively backup PF and Matthews & Rudy are playing SG and backup SF). Since SF is Lukes natural NBA position, it would make sense, and be consistent for Nate, to play him behind Batum. But he's not. It really doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out why. Really. But, psssssssssssst, here's a hint and I want you to keep this quiet- BABBITT AIN'T NO GOOD YET!!
Read my signature. It's there to save me typing time for you. I'm disagreeing with those who say he'll NEVER be any good.
OK, I get that. For now he evidently can't get on the floor. The hope is that in the future he will be able to contribute.
That's exactly what I said and Hollinger has mentioned it plenty. andalusian has provided quotes from Hollinger about it before.
I was agreeing with you, Minstrel. Looks like this is my day for people with whom I agree to think the opposite.
I ran that through an online translator. Turns out that the youth culture in Liechstenstein slang knew what that meant for a brief time in 1847-49, but then they replaced it with the dreamy, "You're grand...simply grand."
Honestly not everything wrong with the team falls on Nate. He has a large portion of the responsibility for how the team plays and how they practice but outside of that he only has as much influence as the team gives him. Considering the mix of players on the team versus the type of guys Nate would want I am guessing that Nate had next to no say in what players were drafted, signed or traded for.
You also were all over Nate when the Blazers drafted Roy saying that Roy was a Nate guy and that is why the Blazers drafted him. Maybe we should let Nate take over all draft decisions.
If you go to a gas station and ask the gas attendant to put premium in the tank and he puts Diesel and it ruins your car - it is not your fault, just as Nate's correct observation of wanting shooters does not make him wrong if Babbit does not pan out as a shooter, as Nate has to work with the data presented to him by the draft people (GM, scouts etc...).
Roy, LaMarcus, Sergio, Rudy all played major minutes as rookies. Nate doesn’t play BAD rookies major minutes, he doesn’t play players who will harm the teams chances of winning games. But Nate has been more than willing to give young guys large minutes if they warrant it. Nate moved a rookie with 0 NBA minutes ahead of last season’s backup PG Bayless who would have been in his 3rd season. Saying Armon is an exception is silly, he is the only backup PG because Nate wanted him to be the backup for this team. Nate plays young guys far more than other coaches like Larry Brown or Phil Jackson, even Mike Dunleavy. Remember how many years Jermaine sat on our bench? You make it sound like most NBA coaches play fan favorite rookies just for fun no matter how it’ll affect the team’s performance. Do we really want to go back to the days where we are losing games to “develop” Serge Monya, Viktor Khyrapa and Ha Sung Jin?
Then you really have to wonder how shitty Babbitt is. Nate plays rookies, Wanted shooters in the draft, we are short handed. How horrible must babbitt be to not get minutes on this team
