Babcock was head coach at
Phoenix College, where his teams advanced to the ACCAC playoffs twice and were the regional runners-up in 1986. He has "23 years of NBA management experience". In 2011, the Bleacher Report named Rob Babcock as one of the "10 Worst NBA GMs in League history".
NBA scout He joined the NBA in 1987 as the director of scouting for the
Denver Nuggets. He also held part-time scouting positions with the
Detroit Pistons,
Cleveland Cavaliers, San Diego Clippers and
Indiana Pacers before joining the Nuggets staff.
Minnesota Timberwolves Babcock then worked with the Minnesota Timberwolves for 12 seasons. The last two as the team's vice-president of player personnel. He served as the director of player personnel from 1994 to 2002 and two seasons (1992–94) as a full-time scout.
Toronto Raptors On June 7, 2004, Babcock was named as the head of the Raptors' basketball operations. Raptors star
Vince Carter had preferred
Julius Erving as General Manager instead. Despite Carter's personal friendship with
MLSE Chairman
Larry Tanenbaum, the Raptors decided to hire Babcock instead.
2004-2005 season Babcock's first move as GM was drafting center
Rafael Araujo 8th overall in the
2004 NBA draft, a widely criticized move from the onset, considering highly touted swingman
Andre Iguodala was drafted with the next pick. Araujo's disappointing play fuelled criticism of Babcock. As well, prior to the
2004-05 season, Babcock signed mercurial
point guard Rafer Alston to a 5-year deal. The move backfired, with Alston reportedly threatening to retire after repeated altercations with rookie head coach
Sam Mitchell. In the summer of 2005, Babcock signed Spanish point guard
Jose Calderon. During the
2007-08 season, Calderon was the second most consistent player for the Raptors next to
Chris Bosh, averaging over 8 assists and leading the league in assist/turnover ratio. Babcock also signed center
Matt Bonner.
Vince Carter trade Following trade rumours all season long, on December 17, 2004, Babcock traded star
Vince Carter to the
New Jersey Nets in exchange for
Alonzo Mourning,
Aaron Williams,
Eric Williams and two first-round draft picks. Carter's production had been declining for the Raptors since the 2000–2001 season. Villanueva earned
NBA Rookie of the Month honors in December 2005, scored a rookie-season-high 48 points in March 2006 against the Milwaukee Bucks, and finished as runner-up in the rookie of the year award. After being traded to the Bucks, Villanueva averaged 16.7 ppg and 6.9 rpg with the Bucks in the 2008–2009 season. Babcock traded Rafer Alston to the
Houston Rockets for point guard
Mike James on October 4, 2005. The Raptors began the 2005–06 season losing their first 9 games and 15 out of their first 16. The team improved in December, but continued to struggle in January.
Firing from the Toronto Raptors On January 26, 2006, just a year and a half after being hired, Babcock was fired as the General Manager of the team by
Maple Leafs Sports & Entertainment President and
CEO Richard Peddie. In 2014, the Toronto Star has referred to Babcock's tenure as "the franchise's darkest days" Babcock later explained that, " A lot of people thought I was too college-ish, too much of a college guy trying to establish a college atmosphere...". and
Bryan Colangelo, the ex-GM of the Phoenix Suns, was later appointed as Babcock's permanent successor.
Return to Timberwolves Shortly afterwards, Babcock returned to the Minnesota Timberwolves organization as a consultant. On September 14, 2006, Babcock along with
Fred Hoiberg were both hired as assistant general managers for the Timberwolves.
Firing from the Minnesota Timberwolves On May 20, 2016, Babcock was fired as the Vice President of Basketball Operations of the team as
Tom Thibodeau took over as coach and president of basketball operations and began to shake up the organization. Babcock is quoted as saying "nobody likes to be let go, but that’s part of this business," in reaction to the news. == Personal life and death ==