Eye of the Tiger: The Tidjane Salaun Thread

[JMAC3]

They want long, strong players who can shoot 3's and move their feet well on D. Maybe Saluan can be that when he is not a teenager.

If the vision for this franchise’s future is a team of Salauns, all I can say is: may the Lord help us.

I think you are probably underrating how easy it is to find 6-9 guy who actually try on defense, decent athletes and can knock down a shot.

Salaun isn't there yet, but there is a reason 5 other teams in the top 10 were rumored to be interested in him. Those guys don't grow on trees, they aren't just floating in the gleague. There is a reason why guys like Toumani Camara, Herb Jones, Young DFS were all super valuable as guys that couldn't dribble, pass, create own shot etc...

[EmpireFalls]

Salaun is a below average athlete and defender. He doesn’t guard any position well and his vertical is quite bad. Guards blow by him and he cannot actually deal with size or protect the rim. He gets put in the mixer quite a bit by basic actions. He runs hard but is not quick.

You can throw out names like Camara or Herb Jones if you’d like, he is nothing like them. I could also mention Dirk Nowitzki, LeBron James, or Kevin Durant, if we want to enter fairy tale land and just wildly throw player comps based on height and position.

[JMAC3]

Salaun is a below average athlete and defender. He doesn’t guard any position well and his vertical is quite bad. Guards blow by him and he cannot actually deal with size or protect the rim. He gets put in the mixer quite a bit by basic actions. He runs hard but is not quick.

You can throw out names like Camara or Herb Jones if you’d like, he is nothing like them. I could also mention Dirk Nowitzki, LeBron James, or Kevin Durant, if we want to enter fairy tale land and just wildly throw player comps based on height and position.

Camara, Herb Jones and DFS all played 4 years in college. None of them were close to stars in college, they were role players. They would have all been absolutely terrible if you took their 19 yr old versions and told them to play in the NBA. Do you expect Salaun at age 19 to be what those guys are now? When they didn't even enter NBA until they were 22/23 yrs old.
I am telling you that is the vision for Salaun.

We knew he was raw when we drafted him, if he turns into those players we will all be very happy and won't care at all if it doesn't happen until year 3.
It is bizarro world to me that so many people don't expect a 19 yr old player to improve when his physical tools were what got him noticed to play in the best French League at age 18, got him noticed by most of the NBA as a lottery pick.

You act like this guy is some random dude the Hornets picked with no pedigree, no upside, no physical tools.

[EmpireFalls]

Salaun is a below average athlete and defender. He doesn’t guard any position well and his vertical is quite bad. Guards blow by him and he cannot actually deal with size or protect the rim. He gets put in the mixer quite a bit by basic actions. He runs hard but is not quick.

You can throw out names like Camara or Herb Jones if you’d like, he is nothing like them. I could also mention Dirk Nowitzki, LeBron James, or Kevin Durant, if we want to enter fairy tale land and just wildly throw player comps based on height and position.

Camara, Herb Jones and DFS all played 4 years in college. None of them were close to stars in college, they were role players. They would have all been absolutely terrible if you took their 19 yr old versions and told them to play in the NBA. Do you expect Salaun at age 19 to be what those guys are now? When they didn't even enter NBA until they were 22/23 yrs old.
I am telling you that is the vision for Salaun.

We knew he was raw when we drafted him, if he turns into those players we will all be very happy and won't care at all if it doesn't happen until year 3.
It is bizarro world to me that so many people don't expect a 19 yr old player to improve when his physical tools were what got him noticed to play in the best French League at age 18, got him noticed by most of the NBA as a lottery pick.

You act like this guy is some random dude the Hornets picked with no pedigree, no upside, no physical tools.

The difference is no one would’ve ever spent a #6 pick on those no name freshmen. We did on Salaun. That raises the expectations significantly. Like it or not we need him to live up to that value.

I am judging him on the curve of being a lottery pick. Being raw is one thing - I have yet to see him show an aptitude for any facet of the game of basketball.

[JMAC3]

Salaun is a below average athlete and defender. He doesn’t guard any position well and his vertical is quite bad. Guards blow by him and he cannot actually deal with size or protect the rim. He gets put in the mixer quite a bit by basic actions. He runs hard but is not quick.

You can throw out names like Camara or Herb Jones if you’d like, he is nothing like them. I could also mention Dirk Nowitzki, LeBron James, or Kevin Durant, if we want to enter fairy tale land and just wildly throw player comps based on height and position.

Camara, Herb Jones and DFS all played 4 years in college. None of them were close to stars in college, they were role players. They would have all been absolutely terrible if you took their 19 yr old versions and told them to play in the NBA. Do you expect Salaun at age 19 to be what those guys are now? When they didn't even enter NBA until they were 22/23 yrs old.
I am telling you that is the vision for Salaun.

We knew he was raw when we drafted him, if he turns into those players we will all be very happy and won't care at all if it doesn't happen until year 3.
It is bizarro world to me that so many people don't expect a 19 yr old player to improve when his physical tools were what got him noticed to play in the best French League at age 18, got him noticed by most of the NBA as a lottery pick.

You act like this guy is some random dude the Hornets picked with no pedigree, no upside, no physical tools.

The difference is no one would’ve ever spent a #6 pick on those no name freshmen. We did on Salaun. That raises the expectations significantly. Like it or not we need him to live up to that value.

I am judging him on the curve of being a lottery pick. Being raw is one thing - I have yet to see him show an aptitude for any facet of the game of basketball.

Then you aren't really watching lol.
Over his last 5 games he is averaging 7.8 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 1.8 apg in 18 mpg. He is shooting 59%/53%/71% splits.
Per 36 that is 16/9/3.5 apg on good percentages that to me shows a pretty good aptitude for being a professional NBA player.
Yes, the bar is low but I swear you guys won't be happy until he puts up back to back 20 point games where he dominates for a few quarters.

I guess where I defer, is that it is not that hard for me to see him contributing 10/7 as a reserve next year getting 25 mpg as a 20 year old on decent shooting percentages with his arrow pointing up as a player.

[KirkHinrich12]

Tidjane Salaun seemed like a terrible and shocking pick from the moment his name was called at the draft. It has only gotten much worse since then. Buzelis was an obvious choice for them. But there were many better options than Salaun.

Imagine if they landed a little higher pick to get Castle last year. Then be in running for Flagg this year. Flagg is their main hope to relevancy, but I doubt the league would let him go to Charlotte.

[KembaWalker]

Tidjane Salaun seemed like a terrible and shocking pick from the moment his name was called at the draft. It has only gotten much worse since then. Buzelis was an obvious choice for them. But there were many better options than Salaun.

Imagine if they landed a little higher pick to get Castle last year. Then be in running for Flagg this year. Flagg is their main hope to relevancy, but I doubt the league would let him go to Charlotte.

go away

[Special_Puppy]

Camara, Herb Jones and DFS all played 4 years in college. None of them were close to stars in college, they were role players. They would have all been absolutely terrible if you took their 19 yr old versions and told them to play in the NBA. Do you expect Salaun at age 19 to be what those guys are now? When they didn't even enter NBA until they were 22/23 yrs old.
I am telling you that is the vision for Salaun.

We knew he was raw when we drafted him, if he turns into those players we will all be very happy and won't care at all if it doesn't happen until year 3.
It is bizarro world to me that so many people don't expect a 19 yr old player to improve when his physical tools were what got him noticed to play in the best French League at age 18, got him noticed by most of the NBA as a lottery pick.

You act like this guy is some random dude the Hornets picked with no pedigree, no upside, no physical tools.

The difference is no one would’ve ever spent a #6 pick on those no name freshmen. We did on Salaun. That raises the expectations significantly. Like it or not we need him to live up to that value.

I am judging him on the curve of being a lottery pick. Being raw is one thing - I have yet to see him show an aptitude for any facet of the game of basketball.

Then you aren't really watching lol.
Over his last 5 games he is averaging 7.8 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 1.8 apg in 18 mpg. He is shooting 59%/53%/71% splits.
Per 36 that is 16/9/3.5 apg on good percentages that to me shows a pretty good aptitude for being a professional NBA player.
Yes, the bar is low but I swear you guys won't be happy until he puts up back to back 20 point games where he dominates for a few quarters.

I guess where I defer, is that it is not that hard for me to see him contributing 10/7 as a reserve next year getting 25 mpg as a 20 year old on decent shooting percentages with his arrow pointing up as a player.

You know a player is bad when "last 5 game" averages and splits are being brought up

[Special_Puppy]

Tidjane Salaun seemed like a terrible and shocking pick from the moment his name was called at the draft. It has only gotten much worse since then. Buzelis was an obvious choice for them. But there were many better options than Salaun.

Imagine if they landed a little higher pick to get Castle last year. Then be in running for Flagg this year. Flagg is their main hope to relevancy, but I doubt the league would let him go to Charlotte.

Clingan was the obvious pick especially since they don't have faith in Mark Williams

[HornetJail]

The difference is no one would’ve ever spent a #6 pick on those no name freshmen. We did on Salaun. That raises the expectations significantly. Like it or not we need him to live up to that value.

I am judging him on the curve of being a lottery pick. Being raw is one thing - I have yet to see him show an aptitude for any facet of the game of basketball.

Then you aren't really watching lol.
Over his last 5 games he is averaging 7.8 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 1.8 apg in 18 mpg. He is shooting 59%/53%/71% splits.
Per 36 that is 16/9/3.5 apg on good percentages that to me shows a pretty good aptitude for being a professional NBA player.
Yes, the bar is low but I swear you guys won't be happy until he puts up back to back 20 point games where he dominates for a few quarters.

I guess where I defer, is that it is not that hard for me to see him contributing 10/7 as a reserve next year getting 25 mpg as a 20 year old on decent shooting percentages with his arrow pointing up as a player.

You know a player is bad when "last 5 game" averages and splits are being brought up

we're oooh-ing and aaah-ing over 8/5/2 lol

i get it as fans we're reaching for literally anything that looks promising with him, but the best case scenario is that we drafted a future energy 10th man if we're patient and wait out his entire rookie contract for it

[EmpireFalls]

The pump fake dribble floater/layup airball in the clutch last night was one of the funniest things I’d ever seen in professional basketball.

Read on Twitter

?s=46

[KembaWalker]

The pump fake dribble floater/layup airball in the clutch last night was one of the funniest things I’d ever seen in professional basketball.

Read on Twitter

?s=46

sad thing is Lee would probably prefer this outcome to taking a wide open 15 footer

[JMAC3]

Then you aren't really watching lol.
Over his last 5 games he is averaging 7.8 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 1.8 apg in 18 mpg. He is shooting 59%/53%/71% splits.
Per 36 that is 16/9/3.5 apg on good percentages that to me shows a pretty good aptitude for being a professional NBA player.
Yes, the bar is low but I swear you guys won't be happy until he puts up back to back 20 point games where he dominates for a few quarters.

I guess where I defer, is that it is not that hard for me to see him contributing 10/7 as a reserve next year getting 25 mpg as a 20 year old on decent shooting percentages with his arrow pointing up as a player.

You know a player is bad when "last 5 game" averages and splits are being brought up

we're oooh-ing and aaah-ing over 8/5/2 lol

i get it as fans we're reaching for literally anything that looks promising with him, but the best case scenario is that we drafted a future energy 10th man if we're patient and wait out his entire rookie contract for it

In limited minutes? Yeah that is pretty good.
Last night he had 8 pts on 4 shots and 7 boards in 26 mins.
Nothing close to world beater, nor are other fans going to notice that type of performance.
... but in the conversation of him being "terrible" "worst pick" etc he is piecing together solid performances.

but most on here are too busy in a constant rage of trying to prove how bad he is.

[JMAC3]

Tidjane Salaun seemed like a terrible and shocking pick from the moment his name was called at the draft. It has only gotten much worse since then. Buzelis was an obvious choice for them. But there were many better options than Salaun.

Imagine if they landed a little higher pick to get Castle last year. Then be in running for Flagg this year. Flagg is their main hope to relevancy, but I doubt the league would let him go to Charlotte.

How many Hornets fans were on the Bulls board while Matas did nothing to start the year? My guess is probably Zero. So kindly stfu

Matas has a few good games and this dude just shows up to troll - this is his superbowl.

[Walt Cronkite]

Supertroll

[EmpireFalls]

The pump fake dribble floater/layup airball in the clutch last night was one of the funniest things I’d ever seen in professional basketball.

Read on Twitter

?s=46

sad thing is Lee would probably prefer this outcome to taking a wide open 15 footer

To be fair to Lee I’m not sure if Salaun has that in his bag

[JDR720]

Looks like he messed up his dribble and didn't manage to recover in time to shoot it with any power/accuracy.

[Chapelchilla]

Cody Williams is playing even worse and was being mentioned a lot around here.
It was overall a bad draft (obviously) and we took a swing on a developmental player who MAY become a solid piece.
Taking the youngest dude in the draft means he needs some time before we can decide he is not going to work out eventually.

[luciano-davidwesley]

The pump fake dribble floater/layup airball in the clutch last night was one of the funniest things I’d ever seen in professional basketball.

Read on Twitter

?s=46

He just does **** like this far too often for there to be any hope of him having the skill and coordination to make it.

At this point I think a 100th percentile outcome is mid-level 3 and D big

[Diop]

do we need to get the troll swatter out?