Has the size necessary to play on the wing in the NBA. Stands 6 feet 5.75 without shoes with a 6-10.5 wingspan and an 8-7.5 standing reach. Has large hands that measured 10 inches in width, and a solid 210-pound frame that stands up to contact and physicality.
Luis has the best chance to make an impact early in his NBA career on the defensive side. He was a solid defender who clearly has been coached well throughout his career. Knows exactly where he's supposed to rotate and knows where he's supposed to help across the court. Has the size and length to play on the back side in one-on-two situations. Has good recognition of what's happening around him and anticipates where he's supposed to be while making sure he's staying home long enough to not give anything away. Overall, he's a sharp team defender who can be relied upon to stay in sequence and not blow a rotation.
Luis has active hands that allow him to get deflections to create turnovers while also not being prone to overhelping. Has a natural instinct for when he can get to the ball and create a steal and when he needs to stay at home on the defensive end without trying to make the extra play. Averaged 1.4 steals per game this year and has consistently been over a steal per game throughout his career.
Good at navigating screens. If you give him any space to go over it, he'll find it. Also takes good angles to close the space between the screener and the ballhandler. Always seems to find the right angle to stay attached and not let a player get a clean look. This might be the skill that separates him most on that end of the court. I trust that he'll find his way around and stay in the play.
Luis plays with a solid motor and has a serious nose for the basketball. Was an awesome rebounder on both ends of the court for St. John's this year. Grabbed 7.2 per game, including 2.1 per game on offense and 5.1 per game on defense. Also is relentless in how he tries to attack defenses when he has the ball and wants to force the issue.
He has offensive skills that could be very valuable. He is a real transition threat every time he touches the ball. Can grab and go on the break with ease. Scored the third-most points in transition per game of any player in my board at 4.4. He has speed in the open court to cover ground quickly. Can go from defense to offense in a hurry.
Very comfortable with the ball in his hands. Loved to get to his pull-up game in college and was something of a three-level scorer. Won't be asked to do as much with the ball in his hands in the NBA, so you hope that the shooting efficiencies improve. Was at the top of every scouting report in college as the team's primary scoring option and hit a number of pull-up jumpers this season.
Did a great job drawing fouls this year and finding his way into easy buckets. Averaged 5.1 free-throw attempts per game and had a diversified game because of his comfort with the ball. Used ball screens. Could attack closeouts out of spot-up situations. Hit the offensive glass hard and got a couple of points per game that way. Finds his way into a couple of points per game off cuts. Would even occasionally post smaller players. Has a natural feel for how to get a bucket.
Luis has some real athletic concerns based on the game that he wants to play. Does not have a particularly fast first step and doesn't have much explosiveness toward the rim. He's more of a slow-twitch athlete for the wing even though he is polished with his footwork and plays well off two feet.
These concerns pop up most on offense. Luis does not separate well from his man. The lack of first step mixed with the lack of suddenness in his ballhandling moves means he doesn't consistently get rim pressure for how often he has the ball. Averaged about three half-court attempts at the rim per game and took several highly contested shots this year.
The big question is how Luis can score efficiently in the NBA. He didn't do anything efficiently this season in spite of his counting stats, which is why he ended up with a true-shooting percentage of 52.5%, well below the average. Had the ball in his hands a lot and needed to create much of the St. John's offense, so downscaling could help. But I'm worried that the skills aren't quite there yet.
Did not finish effectively at the rim this season. Made 50.4% of his half-court attempts, a well below-average number, largely because he took exceptionally hard shots there. He can't elevate to make those hard shots. His gathers and footwork to get to the rim were not impressive. He went into rim protectors and tried to put his shoulder into them while finishing over the top. Desperately needs to work on his footwork around the rim to get cleaner attempts if he's going to drive this often.
Loved to get into the midrange and try to knock down shots over the top of smaller defenders. But he made just 33.1% of his mid-range jumpers, a low number given that he took about three per game. Also made only one of his 13 attempts at a floater. He's not a good enough shooter to take the contested shots from this area.
Luis also just isn't effective enough from 3. Made 33.6% from distance this year and took under four 3s per game. The jumper looks a bit stiff from distance off the catch. It has a bit of a two-motion form with a brief pause at the top of the shot. Tends to have a bit of a longer load into the shot, which can result in guys closing out on him and contesting too easily. Needs to speed things up in a big way. He might be able to knock down shots more efficiently off the catch at some point, but it's going to be a process.
Because he was so shot-focused, he often seemed out of control and made some truly stupefying decisions to try to force the issue. His shot selection was completely out of flow in the St. John's offense from time to time, which led to real issues. In games when he didn't have it going, he could really hinder his team. Needs to get better at taking what comes to him and then moving off the ball when it's not there.
While Luis showed a few passing flashes here and there, they weren't consistent enough. Often forced the ball to the rim when he had obvious kickout passes. Had a negative assist-to-turnover ratio, and the track record of non-high-level shooters on the wing with negative assist-to-turnover ratios entering the NBA at 22 years old is essentially non-existent. Will need to buck serious trends to restyle his game in a manner that scales down to being a role player.
His athletic concerns also pop up on defense. Athletic players had moments this year when they would blow by him in a straight line without resistance. He can't allow this to happen in the NBA. I worry that some of the more explosive guards will see him as someone they can get past if they isolate him in space and he is forced to sit down and guard.
While Luis always knew where he needed to go rotationally, I don't think he really used his frame physically enough. Tended not to wall up to cut off his man's momentum and instead would feed his drivers into where he felt the help was. He was always in position without actually disrupting what the opposition wanted to do on that end of the court. Guys could put their shoulders into him and push him backward. To make an impact on defense, especially early in his career, he has to get better at holding his line while not letting players continue to eat up space.
