Eye of the Tiger: The Tidjane Salaun Thread

[MPM]

Outrage! Hyperbole! Favoritism!

(am I doing this right?)

[SWedd523]

The shot is legitimately his only good projectable trait.

Now that's BS and you know it lol

[Chapelchilla]

He is barely 19, a rookie and has some obvious positives to build on as he grows as a NBA player and into a man. Some of these overreactions are asinine. He was plus 17 last night. My guess (which is all ANY of us can do at this point) is that in 2 years he is a good starter.

[EmpireFalls]

The shot is legitimately his only good projectable trait.

Elite size, good defender, good competitor, good rebounder, good three point shooter.

He is nowhere near a good defender

[JMAC3]

The shot is legitimately his only good projectable trait.

Elite size, good defender, good competitor, good rebounder, good three point shooter.

He is nowhere near a good defender

Yes, no chance at 6-9 with a 7-2 wingspan he is ever a good defender. Good talk.

[Bassman]

Salaun was an overreach by Peterson….there is no doubt about it. It was the kind of pick a new team executive can make in his first year, given wide latitude and a long runway. The end result will either make Jeff look like a genius, or cement his ankles with a blunder right out of the gate. Way too early to draw firm conclusions on the kid. But there is a lot of work to do for him to become a force on the court. If his muscle development can catch up with his size, maybe he will get some hops. If he can drill enough perhaps his hands will react differently with a basketball. He has some good instincts, a decent shot for a big, and hustles at all times. Right now that’s about what we see with picks in the 20’s. I really hope he can grow into being worthy of his pick level.

I really liked Knecht. In evaluation he had an amazing shot, good athleticism and passed the eye test for an NBA player IMO (but he was 22 years old ). When Clingan was still available I would have picked Donovan, OR traded back several spots to gain an asset and pick Knecht. Watching DK ring up huge scoring nights with the Lakers, I can picture him being such a perfect fit with this squad. Clingan would have helped us right now, but admittedly could be a lower ceiling player.

[SWedd523]

Now all of a sudden everyone was Knecht fans the entire time lol

[yosemiteben]

Knecht turns 24 this season. Salaun turned 19 three months ago.

[luciano-davidwesley]

Now all of a sudden everyone was Knecht fans the entire time lol

Who would have thunk it? The fifth year college senior is starting his pro career more NBA ready than the college freshmen. He definitely should have gone first overall in hindsight, a month into their rookie seasons.

[KembaWalker]

Chris Duarte energy

[MPM]

I was OK with Knecht. I am OK with Knecht. Lukewarm. I just can't imagine the train wreck he'd be on this roster, injuries and all, with our current offensive "scheme." Almost every shot he takes in LA is assisted. Bron penetration kick outs, AD top of key, cuts while stars are drawing the d. If he was in teal and you handed him the ball on the perimeter and said 'get your own' he'd spontaneously combust.

[JMAC3]

I was OK with Knecht. I am OK with Knecht. I just can't imagine the train wreck he'd be on this roster, injuries and all, with our current offensive "scheme." Almost every shot he takes in LA is assisted. Bron penetration kick outs, AD top of key pass outs, cuts while stars are drawing the d. If he was in teal and you handed him the ball on the perimeter and said 'get your own' he'd spontaneously combust.

The fear with Knecht is that he will struggle defensively too which is not something we wanted to put next to LaMelo in the backcourt long-term. I think a lot of the early guys that are getting buckets like Knecht, McCain etc it will be interesting to see how they are viewed as defenders 60 games in. If McCain is labeled a bad defender at 6-3 SG then he probably isn't viewed quite as well regardless of if he is scoring 15+. Rozier Syndrome.

[JustBuzzin]

Now all of a sudden everyone was Knecht fans the entire time lol

I can't speak for everyone else, but I'm pretty sure he was 2nd on my list behind Castle for a good while.

Im not even mad we passed on him. I'm just mad everyone else did the same and he landed on a decent team. Now the Lakers got another good piece because everyone else was scared off because of his age.

Age is the only reason I can see why he fell so far. He was arguably the best offensive player in the draft imo

[SWedd523]

Now all of a sudden everyone was Knecht fans the entire time lol

I can't speak for everyone else, but I'm pretty sure he was 2nd on my list behind Castle for a good while.

Im not even mad we passed on him. I'm just mad everyone else did the same and he landed on a decent team. Now the Lakers got another good piece because everyone else was scared off because of his age.

Age is the only reason I can see why he fell so far. He was arguably the best offensive player in the draft imo

Since we're scoreboarding, I was definitely one of the louder "Why Reed over Knecht?" guys around here.

Back to Tiddy: I was admittedly not very excited about the pick but I think he's well ahead of his perceived schedule. People were quoting him as being a year or three away and a Gboro mainstay, but he's been starting games and playing real minutes and generally looking like an NBA player very early in his development cycle which is huge to me.

[Bassman]

Speaking of Clingan:

“When Williams sat out the back end of a back-to-back, lottery pick Donovan Clingan stepped in with 17 points, 12 rebounds and eight blocks.”

Yeah, he’d be pretty good here too !

[CuseMayne]

Now all of a sudden everyone was Knecht fans the entire time lol

I can't speak for everyone else, but I'm pretty sure he was 2nd on my list behind Castle for a good while.

Im not even mad we passed on him. I'm just mad everyone else did the same and he landed on a decent team. Now the Lakers got another good piece because everyone else was scared off because of his age.

Age is the only reason I can see why he fell so far. He was arguably the best offensive player in the draft imo

Since we're scoreboarding, I was definitely one of the louder "Why Reed over Knecht?" guys around here.

Back to Tiddy: I was admittedly not very excited about the pick but I think he's well ahead of his perceived schedule. People were quoting him as being a year or three away and a Gboro mainstay, but he's been starting games and playing real minutes and generally looking like an NBA player very early in his development cycle which is huge to me.

This. Really don't understand the Tidjane hate. Even as a project, he's showing real promise early. Who cares if a few other rookies are doing pretty well? Let's focus in on what we have. He's been a nice surprise defensively, and has shown more than enough flashes offensively imo. Yeah, he can be awkward and stiff at times, but he's 19 all year guys. He's ahead of schedule and we should be happy about that.

[countryboi]

This draft was thin as prison toilet paper. Four to five years from now, we may look back and identify maybe 5 to 6 guys who turned out to be decent. With that in mind, No one is expecting Tidjane to change the franchise; he is here to be a D3 glue guy. I think a career path similar to Nic Batum's is very doable.

[Bassman]

I am happy that Salaun is 19, cause this year is playing out just like Peterson’s plan. When the number one priority from Lee and Peterson is “change the culture”, it means we’re working to get everyone on the new hymn book while we softly tank. Salaun will spend time here, then in Greensboro unless we keep starving for bigs. Sure hope we can be the lucky dog in the lottery and get a top 4 position (and somebody hide Jeff’s passport).

[Diop]

This draft was thin as prison toilet paper. Four to five years from now, we may look back and identify maybe 5 to 6 guys who turned out to be decent. With that in mind, No one is expecting Tidjane to change the franchise; he is here to be a D3 glue guy. I think a career path similar to Nic Batum's is very doable.

I can see him being an Uber Marv Williams. I think at least he will be a mighty fine role player.

The only player I REALLY wanted was Castle, I was ok with Knecht, Holland, Edey.

Knecht is really in the perfect position for him. As long as he sinks open shots he will be fine. 2 stars who give him open shots and provide elite defense. its a shooters dream.

[Diop]

Salaun was an overreach by Peterson….there is no doubt about it. It was the kind of pick a new team executive can make in his first year, given wide latitude and a long runway.

The report was that Spurs wanted Salaun and traded out once he was gone. That was my first glimmer of hope for the pick