Eye of the Tiger: The Tidjane Salaun Thread

[yosemiteben]

All the Aaron Gordon comps…

Not sure if you're referring to around here or on social media or somewhere else, but I went back 5 pages in this thread and the only reference to Aaron Gordon is JB saying "I expect him to have a Aaron Gordon type body when he fully matures." I don't think anyone is saying he's as polished as Aaron Gordon was coming out.

I also said Aaron Gordon without the explosive verticality, feel it is a good comp, and am standing by it. A highlight reel of Salaun's summer league - next year - will undoubtedly look quite a bit like Gordon's above (which is from the '15 summer league, he was drafted in '14). So much unsurprising overreaction on this board, but suppose what these boards are for. Salaun will be fine.

Good call, sorry missed that you made the reference as well.

Just for kicks, here is the 2014-15 summer league stat line for ORL's two PFs (Gordon and Kadeem Batts):



Guess we should be excited that Salaun is pretty significantly outperforming Aaron Gordon in their respective rookie summer leagues?

[MPM]

Not sure if you're referring to around here or on social media or somewhere else, but I went back 5 pages in this thread and the only reference to Aaron Gordon is JB saying "I expect him to have a Aaron Gordon type body when he fully matures." I don't think anyone is saying he's as polished as Aaron Gordon was coming out.

I also said Aaron Gordon without the explosive verticality, feel it is a good comp, and am standing by it. A highlight reel of Salaun's summer league - next year - will undoubtedly look quite a bit like Gordon's above (which is from the '15 summer league, he was drafted in '14). So much unsurprising overreaction on this board, but suppose what these boards are for. Salaun will be fine.

Good call, sorry missed that you made the reference as well.

Just for kicks, here is the 2014-15 summer league stat line for ORL's two PFs (Gordon and Kadeem Batts):

No worries - Gordon had world-beating verticality (and Salaun below average verticality) so hard to comp in that dept - he also started with a bit better handle but pretty much the exact same type of player with the same size - athletic, high energy PF tweener with big defensive upside - and Salaun is ahead of Gordon at the same age with his shot. Statistically, Salaun is also on pace to outperform Gordon in his first summer league (and in less minutes).

[LofJ]

I feel like we're overly critical of our young guys just about every year in summer league. We did the same thing with Brandon Miller last year and how did that turn out? Nick Smith didn't look like anything particularly special most of last year (other than his shooting), but in just one summer he's taken huge strides. We should probably chill on making authoritative statements that we screwed up drafting Salaun this early on.

[JMAC3]

Salaun is averaging 9 ppg/8.5 rpg in just 17 mpg.
Most other rookies are playing 25-30 mpg.
He is also shooting 47% from the field which is one of the higher numbers.

Things are overall pretty good, I really don't get people freaking out.
Outside of him playing more and maybe hitting one more three there isn't too much to be worried about imo.

He could be struggling with fouls, turnovers, shooting sub 30%... none of that has been the case.

[LofJ]

Can you imagine if we drafted Sarr? It could be far, far worse.

[KembaWalker]

I’m not too keen on piling on other teams rookies rn because i remember how annoying summer league was last season when scoot had one good quarter and Miller was struggling

[lmcguir15]

Salaun has been better than I expected. He is a little frenetic, but he does look like he belongs. He's not lost on the court -- he's taken more than one possession coast to coast off a rebound and finished the play. I feel much less pressed than I was during the Bouknight SL.

[GoBobs]

Right now he only plays at one pace, which is out of control as fast as he can go.

Buzelis and Cody Williams would have been wing options that are way ahead in terms of skills and feel for the game. Edey will end up being the best pick from this draft. Carter or Dillingham would have also been much better picks.

The league today is about skill. The skilled guys succeed and the athletic guys with size that you hope you can teach some skills are busts. The only real exception to that is Giannis. Trying to find the next Giannis is a recipe to draft a bunch of busts.

I hope the kid can prove me wrong. We will see.

[GiggitySmalls]

Hes like a baby deer trying to walk when it's born. He's literally that raw.

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[fatlever]

I can't say I am terribly excited about what I've seen, but I'm not freaking out either. The energy is there, size is great. Solid rebounder. Maybe the shot is decent who knows . But I at least feel better about him as a prospect than I did about vonleh, kai, thor, ajinca or bouk on first sl viewing.

15 games in gboro will be good for him.

At the very least it will be good for the team to have another dude on the roster going balls to the wall everyday and practice

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[yosemiteben]

Right now he only plays at one pace, which is out of control as fast as he can go.

How can that possibly be true when he has 1 turnover and 3 PFs in around 35 minutes played? He has led breaks and scored multiple times off the dribble.

It feels like a major reach to say he's always out of control. Have you watched both games?

[JMAC3]

Right now he only plays at one pace, which is out of control as fast as he can go.

Buzelis and Cody Williams would have been wing options that are way ahead in terms of skills and feel for the game. Edey will end up being the best pick from this draft. Carter or Dillingham would have also been much better picks.

The league today is about skill. The skilled guys succeed and the athletic guys with size that you hope you can teach some skills are busts. The only real exception to that is Giannis. Trying to find the next Giannis is a recipe to draft a bunch of busts.

I hope the kid can prove me wrong. We will see.

This is just nitpicking Salaun because you have seen him play every minute. If we had drafted either one of these guys and you watched them play so far you would be saying they are terrible too.

Dillingham is shooting 28% through 3 games and averaged 9.3ppg. 3 turnovers per game.
Cody Williams shot 26% in his first three games in Utah and averaged 5ppg.

Salaun is shooting 47% and averaging 9 ppg in his first 2 games. 0.5 turnovers

[amcoolio]

Again the reason why I think they picked Salaun over Buzelis, Cody, etc. is because he will eventually be able to play a small ball stretch 5. Cody and Buz cannot. I'm aware he doesn't get any blocks, but he's capable of defending the inside, we've already seen it in SL

[Lwcasu]

Hes like a baby deer trying to walk when it's born. He's literally that raw.

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Yeah he’s much rawer than Giannis coming into the league. I went and watched rookie Giannis and this guy is not going to be him. You could see it in Giannis. Tidjane physically looks bigger than Giannis at the same age, and he’s going to be a different player. That being said, worst case he might be a guy getting 10+ boards a game who can hit the 3. If that’s his floor he’s going to have a long career. I think he will become a starter no doubt, and I was very upset initially with the pick (wanted Reed, Castle, Knecht in that order).

[EmpireFalls]

Again the reason why I think they picked Salaun over Buzelis, Cody, etc. is because he will eventually be able to play a small ball stretch 5. Cody and Buz cannot. I'm aware he doesn't get any blocks, but he's capable of defending the inside, we've already seen it in SL

If the long term plan is “Tidjane Salaun defensive anchor”, it must be a very long, long term we’re thinking.

[Walt Cronkite]

Hes like a baby deer trying to walk when it's born. He's literally that raw.

Literally?

[SWedd523]

Just checking in to say Summer League is just about meaningless in terms of projecting individual or team success and I don't really care one way or the other how well they do.

I do think Salaun has statistically and on-the-floorly been better than many of you are claiming. He's at close to double double production in limited minutes, isn't fouling, isn't turning it over, and isn't hesitant to try things out of his wheelhouse. Those are all positive signs for a guy literally as raw as a baby deer

[MasterIchiro]

I wasn't expecting a 1st or 2nd option from this draft, especially considering I didn't see any talent on offense even close to LaMelo and Miller. These guys are longterm #1/2 options. It will take some of these picks years before they can even become 3rd options in an NBA offense.

We did not pick Salaun projecting him to become a 3rd option.

On offense, at best, I suspect we projected him as a 4th option just a touch ahead of Mark as 5th option.

I wanted Castle or Sheppard as potential 3rd options. Perhaps a couple prospects drafted after Salaun can become 3rd options. Buzelis maybe?

But better third options can be found via free agency, trade, or through later drafts. The timing and slot was not ideal for 3rd options.

So we banked on Salaun changing the game on defense, given limited upside on offense across the picks/players that followed. None will have us wishing the fate of our franchise would be different had we just taken....Cody Williams.

That said, I don't like his dribbling skill base. It terrified me. I'm not one to pat Thor on the back for not committing a turnover. I just don't want the damn ball in his hands in the first place. Same goes for Jalen McDaniels. Yay, he didn't commit a turnover! No, I don't like him with the ball in his hands.

This is how I felt when Salaun put the ball on the floor. He has some potential doing that finishing plays but he will never be a conductor on offense. We weren't looking for that in the first place.

So,, I adjust my expectations.

I'm going to give him the MKG leash, which I feel every prospect deserves from fans who denied the bust label.

Salaun needs 1 year in Gleague for me to get a better read on him. Even if he struggles, I won't rush to label him a bust. I like him in transition finishing plays. I think his shot could become respectable. I think his real upside is in his defense. Even that takes many years to develop.

[Liver_Pooty]

Why didn't he play today?

[yosemiteben]

Fine for people to form whatever opinions they want for whatever reason they want, but it seems odd to me to see any strong opinions formed from 30 minutes of summer league play given that he just completed a full year of professional play in a much, much more competitive league. There is tons of tape on him.

He's definitely not going to create for himself off the dribble right now, unless it's a straight line drive.