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Regarding Chris Babb, Brad Stephens said "I loved him in the preseason", but contract signings and rosters spots filling up as they did, Chris Babb found his best alternative was a D-League assignment with Boston's own Maine Red Claws.
Babb went undrafted in 2013, but was invited to the Celtics camp and was one of the last to be cut from the preseason roster. Babb played as a freshman and sophomore at Penn State, sat out a season as a redshirt, and finished up his junior and senior years at Iowa State, earning Big 12 All-Defense honors in 2013. While he has shown some defensive tenacity, his offensive game flat-lined somewhat as his sophomore stats at Penn State are nearly identical to his senior stats at Iowa State.
His offense is defined by his penchant for 3-point shooting, as his NBDL shot chart indicates below.
Babb shot a nifty 35% from 3 point with the Red Claws, but wasn't able to match that this Spring with the Celtics, where he shot a dismal 22% (6 for 27) in 14 games.
He was called up February 28th, earned two 10-day contracts . . . mainly due to Celtics injuries, but also because of his rapport with the coach and team. Subsequently, Ainge signed Babb to a guaranteed contract for the rest of the 2013-14 season that includes a 3-year team option.
So can a 24-year old 6' 5" shooting guard that only shot 27% from the field establish himself as a long-term bench guy with a rebuilding Celtics squad? There will not much room for error as Babb is behind Avery Bradley, Jerryd Bayless and Chris Johnson at the 2-spot depth chart . . . if all are on the team next year.
He works hard on defense and is a team-oriented player, so if his shooting improves this summer, Babb most certainly will have a window of opportunity to be with the Celtics come November.