NBA Draft 2016: Kings select Skal Labissiere with 28th pick

With the 28th pick in the 2016 NBA Draft, the Sacramento Kings have selected Skal Labissiere, a 20-year-old center out of the University of Kentucky. They received this pick as part of an earlier deal with the Suns.

Labissiere, a seven-footer from Haiti, entered the season as a potential top-two pick of the draft, according to scouting sites. His combination of length, mobility and a soft shooting touch seemed to made him a perfect fit for the pace-and-space style that is en vogue in the NBA.

Poor showings early in the year, however, caused his stock to drop significantly, and he didn’t have the type of breakout performance in the NCAA Tournament that makes general managers throw caution out the window.

The tools are there, but the feel for the game and the toughness isn’t yet, which is why it’s not completely surprising to see that he fell all the way to 28 -- which was much lower than he was expected to go.

There’s no doubt Labissiere is a project, but as far as projects go, he’s one worth the patience. Despite being 20 years old already and posting averages of seven points and three rebounds in college, he oozes with potential. He started to play basketball at an advanced age, but he has a refined finesse game that could allow him to become a deadly pick-and-pop threat, as SB Nation’s Ricky O’Donnell noted in March:

Labissiere entered the discussion as Ben Simmons’ main competition for the No. 1 pick at the Nike Hoops Summit in April when he showcased a sweet mid-range jumper and the ability to protect the rim. It was easy to envision him as a rough outline of LaMarcus Aldridge: a 6’11 pick-and-pop wrecking ball who needed to be guarded 20-feet from the basket. Kentucky is running those plays for him now, and the results are impossible to argue with:

Early on, those jumpers will likely be Labissiere’s bread and butter, along with the occasional lob. Right now, he doesn’t have the strength to play in the post. On defense he should block shots from the get-go, but he will need to add a few pounds before he can really make a difference. The biggest concerns are on the glass, where he struggled greatly in college against players his age. It’s hard to see him make an impact in his rookie season.

That’s fine, because what got Labissiere drafted is upside, as his coach John Calipari told John Clay of Kentucky.com:

“When he’s physically able to play in that league, he’s going to be one of those guys. And what I would tell any team, if he had stayed in school another year or two, he would have been the No. 1 pick. Because he’d have figured it out, he’d have blocked more shots, he’d have run better, he’d been more physical. So here’s what I tell you, in 2016, whatever pick you get becomes in 2019 or 2018, you get the No. 1 pick. Should you take him? That’s why he’s going to go in the lottery. Because they’re saying, you know what, if we waited a year or two and got him, he would be the No. 1 pick.”

It’s impossible to know whether Labissiere will develop into the star some think he could be, but it’s undeniable that he has the tools and the talent to be a difference-maker. If his toughness and his body catch up, he could end up being a steal.