Is Labissiere this Year’s Ryan McDonough Kentucky Target?

A lot of the focus around the Suns right now is the fact that they have the fourth overall pick in the draft and rightfully so. However, they do also have the 13th overall selection this year and a player who could slide to that spot with a lot of talent and upside is Seven foot forward/center Skal Labissiere from Kentucky.

It’s proven that Ryan McDonough loves Kentucky players and has added at least one former Wildcat in each year he has been the general manager. This year, Labissiere could be the guy.

The native of Haiti has a unique skill set for his size. He has a long finesse game around the basket with nice touch that could open things up while adding size to the Suns front court. He has a long and thin frame that looks similar to what Anthony Davis and Nerlens Noel had when they were in a UK uniform.

When Labissiere is at his best is when he has his back to the basket and turns and pulls on a little turnaround jumper from the block or low hash. This is something the Suns do not currently have from their front court as Tyson Chandler’s offensive production comes at the rim and on second chance buckets while Alex Len is the same but also a face-up and set shooter from the mid-range and in. Skal also has good touch with his right handed jump hook.

He mentioned in his workout that has good range and can shoot from three some though we did not see that during his time with the Wildcats. The Suns had shooters at the four position with Mirza Teletovic and Jon Leuer but both were not as strong with the length that Labissiere could grow to possess. On the defensive side, he also possesses great instincts to block or alter shots.

Labissiere out of high school was ranked among the top prospects in the nation and after averaging just 6.6 points and 3.1 rebounds, there is a feel that many have soured on the expectations of him which could lead him to slip.

If Suns fans remember correctly, there was another Kentucky player who was placed in a role with an ultra-talented roster which saw his individual numbers suffer a year before Labissiere. His name was Devin Booker. He slipped out of the top ten and turned out pretty good in his rookie season.