10 big men Rockets GM Rafael Stone should pursue

Houston Rockets target #7: Skal Labissiere

Although Skal Labissiere isn’t on an NBA roster at the moment, it’s not because he doesn’t hold value, as the 24-year-old big man is coming off of his best season of sorts in 2019-20. Labissiere was a rotational big for the Portland Trail Blazers last season, and averaged 12.1 points, 10.7 rebounds, and two blocks per 36 minutes.

Labissiere’s defensive rating was the second-best on Portland’s roster in 2019-20 among players that played at least 500 minutes and he finished third in blocks per 36 minutes on the roster, which shouldn’t be a surprise, as his 7-foot-3 wingspan makes it easy for him to contest shots.

The 6-foot-10 Labissiere is a career 35.3 percent shooter from deep, although he doesn’t take an inordinate amount of treys. Labissiere has averaged just 13.5 minutes per game through his last two seasons combined, which is obviously a small sample size, and makes it tough to get a glimpse of what he can bring to the table.

When Labissiere last appeared in the G-League in 2017-18, he posted gaudy averages of 28 points, 15.5 rebounds, and five block per game, while also making 66.7 percent of his treys. This was all on a small sample size, as he played in just two games, but averaged 35 minutes per game.

Labissiere made 55.1 percent of his shots in 2019-20 and posted true shooting splits of nearly 60 percent, which is roughly the same clip he finished at in 2018-19. Labissiere could provide the Rockets with a strong presence on the glass, in addition to a plus defender and a potential lob threat for John Wall.

Next: No. 6