Raptors Should Bet on Potential and Draft Skal Labissiere
By Demar Grant
Skal Labissiere is a 20-year-old power forward/center from Haiti that played for coach Calipari’s Kentucky Wildcats last year and has the highest upside of any player in the draft not named Ben Simmons, making him the ideal choice for the Raptors.
All hail Masai Ujiri, he who somehow fooled the Knicks into making a trade where they took Andrea Bargnani and delivered us a first round pick for this year’s draft. They made a valiant effort to be a playoff team this year and failed, but we don’t care. In fact, we loved that they failed, more talent for us. There’s no such thing as too much talent and the Toronto Raptors need a big man.
If Bismack Biyombo leaves in free agency this year the Raptors are going to need a back up center and even if he stays the power forward position could definitely use some work. So ideally they’re looking for a big man that can play both positions so the rook isn’t stunted by Jonas Valanciunas and can play along side him.
Today’s bigs need to be able to be mobile and run the floor while still having deft skill with the ball, there are no more Manute Bol‘s in the NBA. The Draft is all about taking the tools that a player has already and using those tools to build a NBA player that could be special. The lottery allows a franchise to draft players that could be a cornerstone and Toronto has a ticket.
With the 9th pick in the 2016 NBA Draft the Raptors should select…
Skal Labissiere
He’s a 20-year-old power forward/center from Haiti that played for coach Calipari’s Kentucky Wildcats last year and has the highest upside of any player in the draft not named Ben Simmons. He’s just a hair under 7 feet tall and has an albatross 7-foot-2 wing span resulting in a solid 9’0″ standing reach.
Surprisingly for a player of his stature the open floor is Labissiere’s playground. Like a gazelle through the savanna Labissiere runs effortlessly. He fills his lane and is a gorgeous finisher at the rim. He’s able to use his speed to beat his man down the floor while still possessing great leaping ability, which allows him to play very much above the rim on both ends of the floor.
Remember all those drop off passes and bounce passes that Biyombo is prone to mishandling? Labissiere may as well have vacuums for hands since he’s able to catch the ball at any angle regardless of what type of pass it is. Being such a great outlet for passes makes him a large target, combined with his light and fleet feet in transition Labissere can end the break with some spectacular finishes.
Those soft hands also make him an excellent target out of the pick and roll/pop sequence that is prevalent in the NBA today. At this point in his young basketball career Labissiere’s main scoring weapon is his jumpshot. He shoots the ball with excellence from the midrange and the form is near perfect. On the catch and release, in or out of the pick and roll, Labissiere has beautiful mechanics.
He sets his feet quickly, dips and releases at NBA speed already. Labissiere doesn’t shoot a set shot, he gets great elevation and he shoots the ball from above his head like a guard. Since he’s so damn tall his shot is nigh unblockable, you can only strip it on the way up.
Even if he gets run off his spot in the pick and pop, or off kick outs, Labissere is adept at the one dribble pull up.
He shows excellent footwork, faking out his defender, sidestepping them and remaining calm with the ball in his hands. He never gets off-balance with his jumpshot even when on the move and he never alters his form to over compensate.
Although Labissiere rarely shot three pointers while he was at Kentucky, his midrange shots did come from 18 – 20 feet. His form makes his shot effortless and with an NBA shooting staff behind Labissiere, he should be able to take that extra step out and shoot the three ball effectively.
More from Toronto Raptors
- Toronto Raptors: Christian Koloko Highlights 2022 Summer League roster
- Toronto Raptors re-sign Chris Boucher, add Otto Porter Jr
- Toronto Raptors should not enter the Kevin Durant sweepstakes
- Toronto Raptors reportedly closing on extensions with VanVleet and Young
- Toronto Raptors get what they need in drafting Christian Koloko
Given his length and form on his jumpshot, he can clearly shoot over any defender, regardless of which bigman position. If a center is guarding him, Labissiere is fast enough to beat them off of one or two dribbles when making it to the rim where he has a deft touch laying the ball up around extended arms.
If Labissiere enters the post instead of facing up, he is able to use his extendo arms to get hookshots over the defender with either hand that they simply cannot reach. The beauty of the jump hook is with good mechanics it should never get blocked, but with Labissiere’s height and athleticism the jump hook should become an easy tool used from muscle memory with either hand.
Labissiere also has an unrefined turnaround jumper (over both shoulders) in the post, if he can really hone and develop it, it could do wonders for his game.
Later in his career he should be able to develop his post game to where he leverages his height and jumpshot into a turnaround jumpshot in the post a la LaMarcus Aldridge or Dirk Nowitzki. That infusion of length and elevation could turn into an unstoppable move that the defense will just have to live with. Especially in small ball situations where Labissiere wold be playing the center position it would be impossible for a smaller center to guard this turn around shot.
There is an issue right now with his post game though, he only weighs 215 pounds, but he has a large frame that should be able to fill out with a year or two in the weight room. If he can put on that weight Labissiere will be able to over power smaller defenders, easily putting them under the basket instead of having to out-skill them in the post.
Defensively, Labissiere is quite unrefined. He has all the tools to become an exceptional defender though; great lateral quickness, height and long arms. He has extraordinary footwork when defending the pick and roll and can even switch out onto perimeter players. He gets low into a stance and can deter guards from driving or shooting with his semi-active hands.
He can contain the ball handler with his long arms and leaping ability but will sometimes get caught in no man’s land, leading to a pocket mid range or floater. There have also been times where he gets passive in coverage and sticks to yielding a certain amount of space to the ball handler, which leaves him on the retreat instead of pouncing on the pick and roll using his athleticism.
Labissiere is athletic and he knows it so he can keep up with guards when they turn the corner on screen and rolls but he will overuse that athleticism. When a player goes up for a layup or shot with Labissiere in the vicinity it’s prone to get blocked. He has great timing and instincts for when a player is about to shoot he just needs to be more selective with his attempts to shot block.
He covers ground so quickly and jumps so eagerly he looks almost giddy when a player attacks him at the rim but it sometimes leads to him falling for pump fakes instead of just disrupting the shot. Luckily these tendencies are things you can teach and fix. With Dwane Casey’s defensive mindset Labissiere should be able to improve to be a much more sound defensive player.
RIght now, Labissiere’s biggest flaw is his rebounding. During the college season he only snagged 5.5 defensive boards per 40 minutes. That’s pretty bad for any big man as he tends to get pushed around underneath the basket when wrestling for position. It may seem bad on the surface, but Labissere only weighs 215 pounds at this point (the same as Klay Thompson), with added heft blended with his already superior athleticism he can mature into atleast an average rebounder for his position.
In an era that demands for uber versitile big men that can run in transition, finish around the rim, protect the rim, switch on screen and rolls and space the floor, Labissere projects to be the exact definition of that player. He can play small ball because of his speed and shooting but he can also play big because of his shot blocking and ability to switch.
The draft is all about finding the best talent possible, cornerstones to success. Labissiere has the second highest upside in the draft while already presenting skills that are near NBA ready at the power forward and center position.
If everything breaks right then the Raptors have stolen a player from the Knicks in a spot much lower than he should have ever been drafted in. He shoots the midrange (and possibly the three later in his career), blocks shots, can switch in pick and roll, is fast on the break, jumps better than the rest of them and could develop an Aldridge-like post game.
Next: Jay Triano and Joel Anthony discuss Canada Basketball
If only a few things break right then he’s still a rotational piece that can give you a bit of shooting and some decent rim protection. Remember, we’re talking about the ninth pick in the draft, the Raptors shouldn’t even have this pick if we’re being honest with ourselves. Potential like this doesn’t roll around often, especially at this draft position. If you see a chance at great prospect you gotta leap at the opportunity.