Eye of the Tiger: The Tidjane Salaun Thread

[Walt Cronkite]

Ajinca was absolutely my immediate Bobcat ptsd flashback when this pick was announced, but I'm dumping that on Larry Brown and not giant french teenagers.

[Rich4114]

The last five years we've taken Miller (2), Mark (15), Bouk (11), LaMelo (3), and Washington (12). Love 'em or hate 'em it doesn't reak of a franchise bad at leveraging the 1st round. We hit on 4 of 5, and hit big on 3 out of 5 (if Mark and Melo get healthy).

I think the take here that we can't be trusted to draft wisely rings a bit hollow. Sure bonehead stuff has happened (Duren, etc.) but it does across the NBA.

I'm going to wait to see what Salaun becomes before **** on him. For now, I like what he could be.

You have to include what we did with the other first round picks. Like trading a future pick (which we still owe) to use on Kai Jones who is no longer on our team. Or using a frp we were lucky enough to get from NOLA only to auction it off to Duren on the cheap "because we had too many young players" despite having no NBA centers to play the last two years. Then if you go one year prior to PJ, it's Monk (granted last regime, but still MJ let's be honest) and look at how poorly that asset was managed.

Fact of the matter is, we're bad because we've been bad at maximizing draft capital and bad at free agency decisions. This pick does not instill confidence that it's now better.

[Walt Cronkite]

I keep reading the thread as TayJohn Salmons and not sure how I feel about it because I really liked John Salmons.

Can we just call him Dijon Salmon? I do like some Dijon Salmon.

and a permanent nickname is born, delicious.

[GoBobs]

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.

Cody Williams is light years ahead just like almost everyone else picked in the first round. Williams needs to gain weight but he knows how to play basketball. This dude doesn't know how to play basketball. He makes JT Thor look like CP3.

[yosemiteben]

That was under Mitch though.

I'd feel a lot better if Peterson had a good drafting record with the Nets. But he really doesn't.

I don't get this take. He's never been the one making the final call on who his team drafts.

[Robot Rock]

That was under Mitch though.

I'd feel a lot better if Peterson had a good drafting record with the Nets. But he really doesn't.

I don't get this take. He's never been the one making the final call on who his team drafts.

Maybe for good reason. We'll know soon enough.

[GoBobs]

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.

His defense is terrible. He is a sucker for pump fakes because he jumps at everything. His motor and effort are good, but his BBIQ is terrible. Knecht has a better block percentage.

[yosemiteben]

That was under Mitch though.

I'd feel a lot better if Peterson had a good drafting record with the Nets. But he really doesn't.

I don't get this take. He's never been the one making the final call on who his team drafts.

Maybe for good reason. We'll know soon enough.

It was for an extremely good reason - he's never been the top guy.

[KembaWalker]

Knecht was a grown up playing against kids, Salaun was a kid playing against grown ups

[GoBobs]

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.

The pick is worse than people think. Not only did we throw away our pick, we lit 24 million dollars on fire. He will not be here after 3 years. This team is not patient enough to wait on a project to develop and this guy is not prepared to succeed any time during the next 3 years.

[JMAC3]

The closest comps in my database are

Pascal Siakam, Kyle Kuzma Taylor Hendricks, Christian Wood, Kai Jones, Jalen Smith, Nicolas Claxton, Paul Reed Jr.,DaRon Holmes II, Nikola Jovic, Chimezie Metu, Tyler Smith, Drew Gooden, Joakim Noah, JaMychal Green, Leonard Miller

Parameters:
Height: 6'8-6'10
Weight: 212- 227
Wingspan: 7.25'-7'3.25

Note: There are other names (total 37)

[EmpireFalls]

https://youtu.be/wt8h4sp1W7g?si=DnQ3Uzu_dwo777Ld

hahahahahahaha

Just watch this **** guys. What have we done.

[yosemiteben]

https://youtu.be/wt8h4sp1W7g?si=DnQ3Uzu_dwo777Ld

hahahahahahaha

Just watch this **** guys. What have we done.

Drafted an 18 year old that was a contributor to a competitive professional team in a seemingly competitive international league.

[EmpireFalls]

https://youtu.be/wt8h4sp1W7g?si=DnQ3Uzu_dwo777Ld

hahahahahahaha

Just watch this **** guys. What have we done.

Drafted an 18 year old that was a contributor to a competitive professional team in a seemingly competitive international league.

You should really watch the video. It's agonizing. He does basically everything wrong you can possibly do wrong on a basketball court.

[KembaWalker]

https://youtu.be/wt8h4sp1W7g?si=DnQ3Uzu_dwo777Ld

hahahahahahaha

Just watch this **** guys. What have we done.

I don’t get it, you’ve never seen a guy have a poor shooting night from 3?

[JMAC3]

The pick is worse than people think. Not only did we throw away our pick, we lit 24 million dollars on fire. He will not be here after 3 years. This team is not patient enough to wait on a project to develop and this guy is not prepared to succeed any time during the next 3 years.

The guy was pretty widely seen as a top 10 prospect/pick. We were the worst team in the league last year via net rating. Are we saying we don't think us of all people have mins to develop a guy like him?

We realistically were one of the 5 best landing spots for him if that is the case.

[GoBobs]

The closest comps in my database are

Pascal Siakam, Kyle Kuzma Taylor Hendricks, Christian Wood, Kai Jones, Jalen Smith, Nicolas Claxton, Paul Reed Jr.,DaRon Holmes II, Nikola Jovic, Chimezie Metu, Tyler Smith, Drew Gooden, Joakim Noah, JaMychal Green, Leonard Miller

Parameters:
Height: 6'8-6'10
Weight: 212- 227
Wingspan: 7.25'-7'3.25

Note: There are other names (total 37)

Go watch the 1 hr 30 min video I posted that includes every offensive possession he had last year. His comp is Kelly Oubre because that is how he plays. He has an average 3pt percentage but his misses look terrible. It doesn't matter if he is open or guarded.

He is a below average passer with a negative assist/to ratio and low assist total overall.

He looks like he has perfect size for an NBA wing but has now idea how to make use of it and mostly just shoots a bunch of 3s.

He can dunk and is good in transition or with an open lane on a cut to the basket but is otherwise a terrible finisher.

He isn't good at catching the ball, hands are like Biz.

His stats follow the same pattern as Oubre's but with lower 2pt percentage.

[MPM]

The last five years we've taken Miller (2), Mark (15), Bouk (11), LaMelo (3), and Washington (12). Love 'em or hate 'em it doesn't reak of a franchise bad at leveraging the 1st round. We hit on 4 of 5, and hit big on 3 out of 5 (if Mark and Melo get healthy).

I think the take here that we can't be trusted to draft wisely rings a bit hollow. Sure bonehead stuff has happened (Duren, etc.) but it does across the NBA.

I'm going to wait to see what Salaun becomes before **** on him. For now, I like what he could be.

You have to include what we did with the other first round picks. Like trading a future pick (which we still owe) to use on Kai Jones who is no longer on our team. Or using a frp we were lucky enough to get from NOLA only to auction it off to Duren on the cheap "because we had too many young players" despite having no NBA centers to play the last two years. Then if you go one year prior to PJ, it's Monk (granted last regime, but still MJ let's be honest) and look at how poorly that asset was managed.

Fact of the matter is, we're bad because we've been bad at maximizing draft capital and bad at free agency decisions. This pick does not instill confidence that it's now better.

Oh, I raged at that Duren giveaway. That was plain and simple stoopid. I just think the net result of our recent draft history has been pretty positive - we just can't keep players on the court. It also seems the new ownership regime is much more trade savvy - I loved the DAL and OKC trades. Now, FA? I agree with you, even though recently I liked the PJ contract (despite never liking PJ the player)

[yosemiteben]

https://youtu.be/wt8h4sp1W7g?si=DnQ3Uzu_dwo777Ld

hahahahahahaha

Just watch this **** guys. What have we done.

Drafted an 18 year old that was a contributor to a competitive professional team in a seemingly competitive international league.

You should really watch the video. It's agonizing. He does basically everything wrong you can possibly do wrong on a basketball court.

Maybe I'm missing something, but I really feel like you need to adjust yours lens on this guy.

In the first two minutes I saw him:

(1) attack the boards and generate multiple offensive rebounds
(2) finish a contested drive
(3) shoot multiple long C&S 3s with no hesitation
(4) hit 2 free throws (the only ones he took)
(5) twice back down defenders from the perimeter and finish over them in the paint
(6) attack a close out then dish to the opposite perimeter for a 3

I like him more after watching the first 2 minutes of that video. Guess I'll watch the rest and see what pops out.

ETA: finished the video. Yeah he's rough dribbling in transition and a couple times had questionable rotations or left his feet to contest a shot when he should have stayed down, but I was very impressed with his ability to rebound and his energy in defensive rotations. He did not give me the deer in headlights look I was expecting based on how you described that video.

[GoBobs]

Knecht was a grown up playing against kids, Salaun was a kid playing against grown ups

We need more adults on our team not more kids. A team full of kids is how you remain uncompetative.

By the time this kid is an adult he will be on a different team or out of the league.