Eye of the Tiger: The Tidjane Salaun Thread

[Bassman]

I just think Peterson and Clifford fell in love with a prospect, dreaming at night how great he will be when he blossoms into a true NBA star after about 3 more years of development and growth. This is what happens when new owners give their new front office and coaching staff a LONG RUNWAY to BUILD IT THE RIGHT WAY.

This is why they’re clearly a little worried about Mark Williams, but not sweating it out, because they can just sit his azz this year as well if necessary. Maybe he will grow a spine of steel if he rests it long enough.

It’s called STARTING FROM SCRATCH. Yes Hornets brethren, the selection of Salaun means exactly this. Coaches timeline isn’t compete this season…it is “learn my way” and start building. Lee just needs things to have things come together by Miller’s 4th season so we can try to keep him, and Lee keeps his own job too.

[JDR720]

I'd like to know how big Cliff's role actually is. He's an "advisor" but if he had serious input, he's more than an advisor to me.

[lmcguir15]

We're so stained from the past regime's development skills we're all assuming this is the same story we've already seen. Don't overreact to SL because it won't be a good showing.

I'd be hard pressed to expect Salaun to contribute in year 1, but he has the frame you can't teach and is apparently a worker. Kai didn't work because he fell into drugs/mental health episodes, which is genuinely sad, and Malik was a screw around the entire time in Charlotte. As long as Salaun stays grounded and in the gym, there's a decent chance this works out.

[amcoolio]

I think the hardest part for me is the shock that we are going to tank again next year more than the actual pick, I think where Salaun went was appropriate. We took the rawest prospect in the draft at 6. It wouldn't make sense now to trade for win now players either, and at the same time Brooklyn and Washington are clearly worse with Detroit and maybe Atlanta and Chicago not far behind, so what's the point in tanking for the 8th-10th pick next year? For that 3% chance to move up and win the lottery?

[LofJ]

We've been a hapless, depressing organization for a long, long time. But I'm going to have to disagree about not being able to develop players. Ever since Kupchak took over we've developed a ton of players, some we've kept and others we've traded for picks.

Graham (traded for 1st), McDaniels (traded for high 2nd), Washington (traded for 1st), Martin, Richards, Bridges, and of course LaMelo, Miller, and Mark.

Every team (even the elite ones) drafts players that bust or wash out of the league. But unlike prior eras we've actually drafted players that other teams want and value.

That said we have gotten away from the successful strategy of drafting older, developed players in the 2nd round to our detriment. I hope to see us return to that strategy today.

[Chapelchilla]

I wish we could knock off the Kai comparisons. That guy bombed out because he has mental instability. Salaun is apparently a model citizen. It may take a couple of years but he could be really good. After last year's draft the whole SCOOT dat dawg/the Hornets suck contingent went all in on trashing the Miller pick. They were wrong. I hope that this works out well too. Summer League is not really relevant either - the kid is 18, barely speaks english and can't pass himself the ball. Let's see how he looks heading into 2025 with a year of NBA/USA/normal growth before trashing the whole process.

[JDR720]

It's not our lack of development in general. It's our lack of developing "project" players.

Biz is our only project that's actually been a meaningful contributor, and he didn't improve past his rookie year.

FWI, I consider Biz/Vonleh/Kai/Thor/McGowans and maybe a couple other 2nd rounds that I can't recall as project players. You can maybe put MKG in this, but he was project as a shooter, not overall.

This guy is just as raw if not more raw than Kai was. We're not going to know for a few years what he turns out to be either way. So as of now, hopefully he does well in the Swarm or France next season.

[dmutombo321]

I'm fine with tanking next season but am baffled as to why we take an ultra-raw project (admittedly with frame, youth, athleticism and work ethic if you're stretching to view the glass as half full) as opposed to the best defensive 5 we've seen in the past decade (when our 5 just missed a half-year with a chronic back injury that apparently still isn't right) or trading down for a future asset where we still could've grabbed an Edey, Knect, Matas or Cody Williams (the latter of whom have already shown glimpses of high level basketball talent and are the type of projects far more likely to pop then our Frenchman)

Had we taken a raw player like Saluan at #18, I would've shrugged and raised an eyebrow but ultimately been ok. Taking him at #6 however, even in this weak draft was foolish as there were better options.

Is it possible he succeeds - yes

Am I rooting for him to succeed - absolutely

Is it a risk I would've been comfortable gambling on with our #6 if I were GM, even if I liked the kid after a good workout and interview.... No way..

Sent from my motorola edge (2021) using RealGM mobile app

[luciano-davidwesley]

One other positive thing of note is he looks to have close to an NBA ready, 6'9 frame and plus length at 18. He does not look scrawny at all playing against men in France.

[GoBobs]

Watch on YouTube

If anyone wants to take the deep dive

[MPM]

or trading down for a future asset where we still could've grabbed an Edey, Knect, Matas or Cody Williams

This is really the hinge on which my final verdict swings. If we find there were real assets being offered by MEM and could've taken them + an upside swing on a Buz or Williams (or Salaun!), I'll be far less OK with Salaun at 6. Not unhappy - less OK.

Unlike most, I'm not a believer in Clingan so happy to pass on him.

[Robot Rock]

I don't think the team is tanking this upcoming season. Personally, aside from 2011-13, there's never been the traditional form of "tanking" here. The franchise is so comically inept that it looks like they're tanking when really, they just don't do anything remotely right. That's pretty frequent and it's the case again this year.

[LofJ]

I'm fine with tanking next season but am baffled as to why we take an ultra-raw project (admittedly with frame, youth, athleticism and work ethic if you're stretching to view the glass as half full) as opposed to the best defensive 5 we've seen in the past decade (when our 5 just missed a half-year with a chronic back injury that apparently still isn't right) or trading down for a future asset where we still could've grabbed an Edey, Knect, Matas or Cody Williams (the latter of whom have already shown glimpses of high level basketball talent and are the type of projects far more likely to pop then our Frenchman)

Had we taken a raw player like Saluan at #18, I would've shrugged and raised an eyebrow but ultimately been ok. Taking him at #6 however, even in this weak draft was foolish as there were better options.

Is it possible he succeeds - yes

Am I rooting for him to succeed - absolutely

Is it a risk I would've been comfortable gambling on with our #6 if I were GM, even if I liked the kid after a good workout and interview.... No way..

Sent from my motorola edge (2021) using RealGM mobile app

Cody Williams is just as much of a project as Salaun. He weighs like 5 more pounds than Trae Young. It's going to take him multiple years to develop his body to an NBA level. I wouldn't have minded a trade back and picking Matas, but a lot of teams passed on him so it's not like we made an obvious mistake there. Heck, the Spurs didn't like anyone at 8 so they traded out of the draft entirely. The reports that they were locked in on Salaun at 8 are probably true given what they did with the Dillingham trade.

[EmpireFalls]

Here's a 6 minute game of Salaun's plays on both ends, good and bad.

Please do let me know how far you get before bursting out laughing. For me it was about 2:45.

https://youtu.be/x-pmGCjuXvI?si=OoiIzIBLVhKJoORM

[KembaWalker]

If Thor had half the motor of Salaun he’d probably be decent

[JustBuzzin]

Him big speaking good English could be tough especially on a younger team who doesn't really have any leadership besides Grant Williams. Hope the team embraces him because it's going to be tough for him to adjust to a new environment.

[Robot Rock]

Him big speaking good English could be tough especially on a younger team who doesn't really have any leadership besides Grant Williams. Hope the team embraces him because it's going to be tough for him to adjust to a new environment.

Hopefully Jordan Surenkamp speaks French.

[JMAC3]

Forget offense for a second, my thing with him is how good of a defender can become early in his career. I can't remember who it was maybe... Vecenie, who said when he talked to French teams they said Salaun was someone they game planned for because with his size, length he could wreck some of their game plans. He isn't a real rim protector but his length is really good at getting into passing lanes. I think his best fit right now is the 4 on both defense and offense.

Offensively, I think you keep it simple for him early in his career. Shoot open 3s, run in transition, crash boards and 1 or 2 times a game you get a wild card possession to do your thing. He seems like a good cutter out of the corner, which fits well with LaMelo getting to the backline of the defense and being able to throw him some baseline floaters for dunks.

I don't see much on ball creation with him, so he is going to mainly need to be fed by LaMelo and Miller.

[Robot Rock]

Here's a 6 minute game of Salaun's plays on both ends, good and bad.

Please do let me know how far you get before bursting out laughing. For me it was about 2:45.

https://youtu.be/x-pmGCjuXvI?si=OoiIzIBLVhKJoORM

Meh, in that video he looks like a raw prospect who plays with a lot of energy but doesn't shoot it all that well. It highlighted his hustle plays and the fact he can't finish in any traffic but when you think about it, most NBA players, if you can get a step on them, just give you the lane at some point in a game so they can get back on defense.

[JustBuzzin]

Forget offense for a second, my thing with him is how good of a defender can become early in his career. I can't remember who it was maybe... Vecenie, who said when he talked to French teams they said Salaun was someone they game planned for because with his size, length he could wreck some of their game plans. He isn't a real rim protector but his length is really good at getting into passing lanes. I think his best fit right now is the 4 on both defense and offense.

Offensively, I think you keep it simple for him early in his career. Shoot open 3s, run in transition, crash boards and 1 or 2 times a game you get a wild card possession to do your thing. He seems like a good cutter out of the corner, which fits well with LaMelo getting to the backline of the defense and being able to throw him some baseline floaters for dunks.

I don't see much on ball creation with him, so he is going to mainly need to be fed by LaMelo and Miller.

This pick isn't as bad as people think. I see a 19yr old kid who has legit shooting range as a catch n shoot player and he plays hard and can run the floor well. That's the type of stretch pf you want running the break with Melo.

I think a less athletic John Collins is his ceiling. Hopefully he ends up better than that.