Eye of the Tiger: The Tidjane Salaun Thread

[MPM]

"Who I believe has been in France the last couple of seasons?" :37 mark is where I stopped listening.

[JMAC3]

Plenty of guys who put out draft content that I respect had him in the top 10. I don't think this was a reach, Spurs were really interested in him, Detroit was rumored to be big fans, KOC had Portland taking him 7th.

I think most of the backlash is just that we weren't really linked to him much, so he wasn't talked about much prior to the pick. Realistically Castle, Sheppard and Holland were 3 of the more popular guys and all three were gone.

I don't know if the board would have been shouting in glee with Knecht or Cody Williams.

I think Matas would have really been the only guy people would have all come together and been satisfied with.

[vorbis]

this is part of the reason why i stopped bothering digging into the prospects before the draft. so that once the player is drafted i can simply get to watching him and seeing his potential. without having that *genuine fun* be spoiled by preconceived notions about his game/fit/talent and bitterness about a player i liked better being passed over

[fatlever]

Waited 15 hours finally comment on this pic publicly lol.

I'm so sick of watching this franchise throw away pics on guys who have no idea how to play basketball but just happen to have the ideal physical profile we've done it over and over and over again for the past 20 years and it never works for us, for whatever reason.

The last thing this franchise needed was another kid who has no idea how to play.

Did our ex coach and current front office ball in love with this guy as an overreaction to the current core of the locker room? Clifford fell in love with this guy because he hustles his ass off. Peterson loved this guy because he eats sleeps and dreams about basketball and doesn't care about anything but basketball.

It's a pretty clear indication to me that this team is not interested in really trying to win next year. I don't think they'll actively try to lose but I don't think they're going to go out of their way to win any games, not with that old pic the San Antonio and a stacked 2025 draft.

Be success rate on these types of international project players is pretty low.

Either they think Mark's foot is really healthy or they don't really care if Mark's back is really healthy. Passing on clingan, at least right now, feels like a pretty obvious error to me. Hopefully we have something else planned free agency to address the center position because if Mark gets hurt again and we have to watch 50 games of Nick Richards starting I'm going to lose my f****** mind.

The only thing that makes this a little more palatable is that three of our top choices were already off the board. I wonder if we would have taken Holland if he was there at 6? And I'm dying to know who we would have taken between Reed and castle if they were both available but will never know.

Reading the tea leaves and my best guess, this is a slight nudge in the direction of we're not bringing miles back and we'll use the cap space to take on some bad contracts and additional pics. Which is at least a direction, only it's a different direction than we were seemingly headed at trade deadline when we decided enough of enough with the kids and wanted to get some adults in the room. So it feels like we've kind of done a 360 from kids to adults back to kids.

A lot of speculation on my part so we'll see how this plays out for the next few weeks then I'm going to reserve the rest of my judgment until I see this dude on the court and summer league. Hopefully he doesn't look as awful as ajinca, vonleh, biz, thor and Kai Jones did.



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[JMAC3]

Risacher averaged 11 ppg in the French League
Salaun averaged 9 ppg in the French League
Coulibaly averaged 5 ppg in the French League

Giddey averaged 11 ppg in the NBL
Sarr averaged 9 ppg in the NBL
Dieng averaged 9 ppg in the NBL
Rupert averaged 7 ppg in the NBL
Flowers averaged 5 ppg in the NBL
AJ Johnson averaged 3 ppg in the NBL

I will say it again louder for the people in the back... the French League is way better than the NBL.

[JDR720]

Waited 15 hours finally comment on this pic publicly lol.

I'm so sick of watching this franchise throw away pics on guys who have no idea how to play basketball but just happen to have the ideal physical profile we've done it over and over and over again for the past 20 years and it never works for us, for whatever reason.

The last thing this franchise needed was another kid who has no idea how to play.

Did our ex coach and current front office ball in love with this guy as an overreaction to the current core of the locker room? Clifford fell in love with this guy because he hustles his ass off. Peterson loved this guy because he eats sleeps and dreams about basketball and doesn't care about anything but basketball.

It's a pretty clear indication to me that this team is not interested in really trying to win next year. I don't think they'll actively try to lose but I don't think they're going to go out of their way to win any games, not with that old pic the San Antonio and a stacked 2025 draft.

Be success rate on these types of international project players is pretty low.

Either they think Mark's foot is really healthy or they don't really care if Mark's foot is really healthy. Passing on clingan, at least right now, feels like a pretty obvious error to me. Hopefully we have something else planned free agency to address the center position because if Mark gets hard again and we have to watch 50 games of Nick Richards starting I'm going to lose my f****** mind.

The only thing that makes this a little more palatable is that three of our top choices were already off the board. I wonder if we would have taken Holland if he was there at 6? And I'm dying to know who we would have taken between Reed and castle if they were both available but will never know.

Reading the tea leaves and my best guess, this is a slight nudge in the direction of we're not bringing miles back and we'll use the cap space to take on some bad contracts and additional pics. Which is at least a direction, only it's a different direction than we were seemingly headed at trade deadline when we decided enough of enough with the kids and wanted to get some adults in the room. So it feels like we've kind of done a 360 from kids to adults back to kids.

A lot of speculation on my part so we'll see how this plays out for the next few weeks then I'm going to reserve the rest of my judgment until I see this dude on the court and summer league. Hopefully he doesn't look as awful as ajinca, vonleh, biz, thor and Kai Jones did.



Sent from my SM-G973U using RealGM mobile app

[KembaWalker]

Would you guys actually be happy if the FO thought process was “well we really like this guys potential but the previous regime took Kai Jones and the regime before that took Noah Vonleh and those didn’t work so we should go a different route”

[JDR720]

Would you guys actually be happy if the FO thought process was “well we really like this guys potential but the previous regime took Kai Jones and the regime before that took Noah Vonleh and those didn’t work so we should go a different route”

They have to be aware of the fact the previous FO screwed up drafting these guys and the fans are going to be upset about drafting another.

Not to mention Cliff and Mitch (more so Cliff, if reports are accurate) are still involved in the process. Clifford was here when we drafted all of these guys. How much pull does he have?

The only redeeming thing here is the other guys (besides Clingan) are meh too. So this is at least an interesting development to follow for the next few years. My feelings are basically "Meh, whatever." Don't expect him to be good, but who knows.

[KembaWalker]

Would you guys actually be happy if the FO thought process was “well we really like this guys potential but the previous regime took Kai Jones and the regime before that took Noah Vonleh and those didn’t work so we should go a different route”

They have to be aware of the fact the previous FO screwed up drafting these guys and the fans are going to be upset about drafting another.

Not to mention Cliff and Mitch (more so Cliff, if reports are accurate) are still involved in the process. Clifford was here when we drafted all of these guys. How much pull does he have?

The only redeeming thing here is the other guys (besides Clingan) are meh too. So this is at least an interesting development to follow for the next few years.

If I heard our FO was drafting based on projected fan reception that’d put them below Cho

[fatlever]

Waited 15 hours finally comment on this pic publicly lol.

I'm so sick of watching this franchise throw away pics on guys who have no idea how to play basketball but just happen to have the ideal physical profile we've done it over and over and over again for the past 20 years and it never works for us, for whatever reason.

The last thing this franchise needed was another kid who has no idea how to play.

Did our ex coach and current front office ball in love with this guy as an overreaction to the current core of the locker room? Clifford fell in love with this guy because he hustles his ass off. Peterson loved this guy because he eats sleeps and dreams about basketball and doesn't care about anything but basketball.

It's a pretty clear indication to me that this team is not interested in really trying to win next year. I don't think they'll actively try to lose but I don't think they're going to go out of their way to win any games, not with that old pic the San Antonio and a stacked 2025 draft.

Be success rate on these types of international project players is pretty low.

Either they think Mark's foot is really healthy or they don't really care if Mark's foot is really healthy. Passing on clingan, at least right now, feels like a pretty obvious error to me. Hopefully we have something else planned free agency to address the center position because if Mark gets hard again and we have to watch 50 games of Nick Richards starting I'm going to lose my f****** mind.

The only thing that makes this a little more palatable is that three of our top choices were already off the board. I wonder if we would have taken Holland if he was there at 6? And I'm dying to know who we would have taken between Reed and castle if they were both available but will never know.

Reading the tea leaves and my best guess, this is a slight nudge in the direction of we're not bringing miles back and we'll use the cap space to take on some bad contracts and additional pics. Which is at least a direction, only it's a different direction than we were seemingly headed at trade deadline when we decided enough of enough with the kids and wanted to get some adults in the room. So it feels like we've kind of done a 360 from kids to adults back to kids.

A lot of speculation on my part so we'll see how this plays out for the next few weeks then I'm going to reserve the rest of my judgment until I see this dude on the court and summer league. Hopefully he doesn't look as awful as ajinca, vonleh, biz, thor and Kai Jones did.



Sent from my SM-G973U using RealGM mobile app

stupid voice to text is still so bad, despite robots taking over the world.

[Rich4114]

Would you guys actually be happy if the FO thought process was “well we really like this guys potential but the previous regime took Kai Jones and the regime before that took Noah Vonleh and those didn’t work so we should go a different route”

They have to be aware of the fact the previous FO screwed up drafting these guys and the fans are going to be upset about drafting another.

Not to mention Cliff and Mitch (more so Cliff, if reports are accurate) are still involved in the process. Clifford was here when we drafted all of these guys. How much pull does he have?

The only redeeming thing here is the other guys (besides Clingan) are meh too. So this is at least an interesting development to follow for the next few years. My feelings are basically "Meh, whatever." Don't expect him to be good, but who knows.

With Clifford, we have one example of he would've been right (Mitchell, allegedly) but what he's done with "player development" and young players in general has been abysmal his entire career save for last season with Brandon Miller. I know he is well respected within this org, but c'mon man. Why did we hire Jeff to begin with? Just make Cliff the GM if you want to roll that way. This is the same man who thinks Nick Richards developed into a good NBA player.

idk what this means for free agency and trying to win this season, but I'm getting the sense that they're not going to do everything possible to compete this year. They're going to use this year to evaluate the roster (again), add another high pick in 2025 (not the worst thing I guess) and then see where they're at next year. Also makes me feel like they're going to let Miles walk, so we can keep the tradition alive of burning both high draft picks AND developed players in one shot. Good business.

[fatlever]

clifford liked booker over frank, mitchell over monk and miller over scoot
but he also loved mcw and french frank so...

[countryboi]

As I recall, Milwaukee also took their flier on Gianni's in the teens. Had they miffed and he turned out to be Kai Jones instead, they wouldn't have potentially thrown away a top 6 pick like we're risking.

As empire points out, giannis also had a foundational understanding of the game of basketball

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

6 in this draft is like a mid teens in other drafts, this draft was basically like starting at 9. This is why yall need to temper your expectations and distain way down. He is pretty much a mid teens project

[fatlever]

Paul Biancardi
@PaulBiancardi
Covered the draft on
@wfnz
in Charlotte with
@WalkerMehl
and
@RickardonSports
.

My coaching analysis on Tidjane Salaun:

When you have a lottery pick, you want to swing for what you perceive as the best prospect with the most promise. He is 18.9 years old, which means there is so much room for growth.

Let’s start with his great frame: 6’9” with a 7’1” wingspan and a high motor.

Starting to become a capable spot-up and movement shooter behind the arc.

Good rim runner and finisher with NBA bounce.

Positional versatility as a 4/3.
Help-defender with the ability to cover ground once he learns coverages. Switch defender too. Possible 2,3,4.

Bottom line
@hornets
fans:

He is a two-way upside player with physical measurables, shooting intrigue, and defensive ability. He will grow as a player because of his work habits.✔️

[yosemiteben]

Would you guys actually be happy if the FO thought process was “well we really like this guys potential but the previous regime took Kai Jones and the regime before that took Noah Vonleh and those didn’t work so we should go a different route”

They have to be aware of the fact the previous FO screwed up drafting these guys and the fans are going to be upset about drafting another.

I sincerely hope our FO never passes up on a prospect that they think is BPA because they're worried about how fans will react.

[yosemiteben]

Pretty wild that this guy averaged very similar stats as Risacher in the same league, but Risacher was a no brainer #1 pick for a team trying to win while the Hornets are clearly incompetent / tanking.

[MPM]

Pretty wild that this guy averaged very similar stats as Risacher in the same league, but Risacher was a no brainer #1 pick for a team trying to win while the Hornets are clearly incompetent / tanking.

Yep, context eludes. Some folks here seem to think the Hornets discovered Salaun playing pickup basketball barefoot with a cantaloupe. As JMAC has stated and restated - guy was a starter and significant contributor - at 18 - for a playoff team in a highly competitive French league. He's not some wolf boy you have to teach to use a spoon and toilet. He's a wolf boy who already knows how to use a spoon and toilet.

In other words, 18 = needs developing. Needs developing does not mean he doesn't know how to play basketball.

[fatlever]

i do LOVE that he is described as a "maniacal" worker. we need to surround melo with nothing but guys who put hoops 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. melo is incapable of changing the culture here for the better, so you gotta bring in others to do it. it will rub off on melo or he'll alienate himself from the team.

[fatlever]

Pretty wild that this guy averaged very similar stats as Risacher in the same league, but Risacher was a no brainer #1 pick for a team trying to win while the Hornets are clearly incompetent / tanking.

Yep, context eludes. Some folks here seem to think the Hornets discovered Salaun playing pickup basketball barefoot with a cantaloupe. As JMAC has stated and restated - guy was a starter and significant contributor - at 18 - for a playoff team in a highly competitive French league. He's not some wolf boy you have to teach to use a spoon and toilet. He's a wolf boy who already knows how to use a spoon and toilet.

In other words, 18 = needs developing. Needs developing does not mean he doesn't know how to play basketball.

lol
Barefoot and Cantaloupes: the Tidjane Salaun Thread

[MPM]

Pretty wild that this guy averaged very similar stats as Risacher in the same league, but Risacher was a no brainer #1 pick for a team trying to win while the Hornets are clearly incompetent / tanking.

Yep, context eludes. Some folks here seem to think the Hornets discovered Salaun playing pickup basketball barefoot with a cantaloupe. As JMAC has stated and restated - guy was a starter and significant contributor - at 18 - for a playoff team in a highly competitive French league. He's not some wolf boy you have to teach to use a spoon and toilet. He's a wolf boy who already knows how to use a spoon and toilet.

In other words, 18 = needs developing. Needs developing does not mean he doesn't know how to play basketball.

lol
Barefoot and Cantaloupes: the Tidjane Salaun Thread

Still hoping for Dijon Salmon.