Masai Ujiri’s hoop dreams truly know no bounds.
According to a report by Chad Ford of ESPN on Thursday, the Toronto Raptors, who hold the No. 9 overall pick in this year’s draft, may consider selecting Kentucky big man Skal Labissiere at that spot if none of the top eight players in the draft fall to them.
Hearing strong rumblings that Raptors GM Masai Ujiriin on Kentucky's Skal Labissiere at No. 9 if none of top 8 players in the draft fall.
— Chad Ford (@chadfordinsider) June 23, 2016
Labissiere, 20, was once considered to be a top-three talent in this year’s class, but saw his draft stock take a nosedive after a disappointing freshman season with the Wildcats. Though the Haitian big man’s natural gifts (namely, a seven-foot frame and a long wingspan that give him a high degree of potential as a shot-blocker as well as an excellent shooting stroke and nimbleness for a big) are undeniable, he failed to display a satisfactory amount of interior toughness or a decent enough feel for the game. Labissiere’s struggles got so bad that even John Calipari had to step in to defend him.
But Labissiere nevertheless opted to cash in on his earning potential now and declared for the 2016 Draft instead of staying in school another year to fix his issues. While he certainly would be a reach at No. 9 overall, don’t put it past GM Ujiri, a guy who has been known to love raw, foreign prospects. Ujiri acquired big men Lucas “Bebe” Nogueira and Bismack Biyombo in consecutive offseasons and famously sent shockwaves around the league by drafting the unknown Bruno “Two Years Away From Being Two Years Away” Caboclo in 2014. The Raptors would certainly benefit from drafting an upside-laden big man like Labissiere after giving substantial frontcourt minutes to the likes of Patrick Patterson, Luis Scola, and Jason Thompson last season.
If the Raptors, or any other team for that matter, want to gamble on pure talent at the back-end of the lottery, perhaps Labissiere is indeed their guy.
Image Credit: Mark Zerof-USA TODAY Sports
H/T NBA Reddit
