The DeMarcus Cousins trade finally gave Skal Labissiere an opportunity to shine

Skal Labissiere scored 21 fourth-quarter points, including the team’s first 16 points of the period, to power the Kings to a 107-101 win over Phoenix on Wednesday. The rookie set a season high with 32 points on 11-of-15 shooting and grabbed 11 rebounds in easily the most impressive game of his young career.

His career night featured the second-highest scoring output by any rookie this season behind Joel Embiid’s 33 points in December. Labissiere even made a three-pointer, his only one of the season.

There were no highlight-reel moments, no poster dunks or ankle-breakers. Most of Labissiere’s points came off screens set on Tyreke Evans and Langston Galloway, where he’d either knock down a foul line jumper or roll all the way to the rim for an easy layup.

His production isn’t unique to Wednesday, but it has been a trend in recent weeks.

When Labissiere gets playing time, he produces on the floor. In March, the Kings’ rookie is averaging 33.1 points and 16.4 rebounds per 48 minutes. The issue is he’s only averaging 16.4 minutes per game, but that’s likely to change after his explosion against the Suns.

Something odd has happened ever since the Kings’ leading scorer and rebounder was moved to the Pelicans after the All-Star Game. It’s a phenomenon no one could have predicted. It’s a ground-breaking discovery. We never could have seen this coming.

More players are getting touches.

In the 11 games the Kings have played since the All-Star break, nine players are averaging double-digits. That’s because the ball is being shared instead of dumped down into the post.

Before his trade, Cousins absorbed 37.6 percent of the Kings’ possessions, and rightfully so — a team’s best player should be responsible for making plays for his teammates. That number climbed to 44.5 percent in the fourth quarter, according to data from NBA.com.

After his trade though, Sacramento’s usage is split near even across its starters. No player has a usage rate above 28 percent, while 10 players absorb 15 percent or more of the team’s possessions while on the floor.

The shared possessions have translated to player production. The Kings now have eight players averaging double figures (nine if you count Kosta Koufos’ 9.7 points per game), with Willie Cauley-Stein posting a team-high 13.8 points per game. Only one of those players, Darren Collison, was averaging double digits before Cousins’ trade.

When Labissiere went off for 21 points in the fourth quarter against the Suns, he used 43.7 percent of Sacramento’s possessions. His teammates fed him the ball — they found the hot hand and kept going back to him.

The Boogie trade hasn’t translated over to the win column, though. The Kings are 3-11 since moving on from Cousins, after going 23-32 with him. Sacramento still needs a star, and the jury is still out on whether Buddy Hield will become that in the future.

For now, though, the Kings can enjoy the process of developing their young players. Labissiere has shown he can produce when given the opportunity. And with Cousins no longer in town, Sacramento has shown there is enough opportunity to go around.