Tidjane Salaun - 2024 NBA Draft Prospect

[Ariel]

Salaun to me is just a taller Cidy Cissoko
He's kind of like Blake Wesley, only longer but less athletic, slightly better shooting but even worse finishing, with worse defense and bball iq.

[Mr. Body]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7s3jIw5FXc

People say out of hand that Dillingham is the worst defender in the draft. This is probably true, but I'm not sure that Topic is any better. I definitely don't think Salaun is any better. 7:08 begins the manifold, woeful defensive problems, and shows that size isn't the solution. This guy is a total mess on defense. It's nearly hopeless.

[BackHome]

It finally came to me this guy is one of our old draft picks - Ryan Richards

[spurraider21]

It finally came to me this guy is one of our old draft picks - Ryan Richards
Richards was more talented tbh, but probably the least driven player we ever drafted

[Vienna]

That ankle injury looks suspicious especially when you consider that Salaün's agent is the same as Wembanyama and the same as Batum...

I'm not a fan of Salaün. He has a poor feel for the game which is a red flag for me. Saying that, you have to be nuanced when judging prospects: Salaün has some huge qualities and calling him directly a bust is just plain stupid.

What we are most of the time projecting is Spurs drafting a SF and a PG with #4 and #8 but it might not be Spurs plan. Spurs might want to trade for a PG, draft a SF at #4 (Risacher) and Salaün, who is mostly a PF, at #8.

I see Salaün almost as a lock at 8. (unless some other team picks him before 8).
many here are complaining about the lack of talent and the lack of sure fire star potential in this draft.
so what will teams do, especially those with more than one pick?
you use at least one of your picks to gamble on youth and raw potential.
Salaün tops all other players in this draft regarding raw potential. He ist younger than most, has great positional size (might even grow a bit) and he has even better functional size. With his standing reach of 9‘2“ he might even play some center in some line ups. He has a great body, but will likely get bigger, as all 18 years old do.

he had some of his best games at the end of the season and we can assume in front of dozens of scouts, including Spurs scouts. I‘m also sure Spurs like his shooting. Yes, he was very inconsistend, but he had several games when he shot like 4-8, 3-6, 4-10. and he had games, when his shot didn‘t fall, but the more important thing was, he didn‘t stop. He kept trying. We know that‘s something Pop ist looking at.
so yes, I can see that the Spurs gave him a promise at 8. I don‘t love it, but I can totally see the reasons the Spurs might have to do so.

[BackHome]

If you pick Saluan your looking at him playing minimum 3 years straight in G League as it is going to take that long just to work on fundamentals

[Mugen]

11+ pages shitting on a kid as young as Saluan while slobbin' over guys like Buzeli/Holland/Cody Williams is wild to me tbh :lol

[Mugen]

If you pick Saluan your looking at him playing minimum 3 years straight in G League as it is going to take that long just to work on fundamentals

It def wouldn't take "minimum 3 years" tbh, that's hilarious :lol

[offset formation]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7s3jIw5FXc

People say out of hand that Dillingham is the worst defender in the draft. This is probably true, but I'm not sure that Topic is any better. I definitely don't think Salaun is any better. 7:08 begins the manifold, woeful defensive problems, and shows that size isn't the solution. This guy is a total mess on defense. It's nearly hopeless.

I think the thing on him is that he has the motor to play defense. Kid just doesn't have the mental part yet. I'm guessing if they take him it's 100% on projecting his improvement.

But I think you nailed it on Dillingham and Topic. Hard to even see their desire to play defense. And if there's one thing that's killed the Spurs over the last few years it's been guys that don't have the ability to play defense which led to our NBA historic lows on 2022-2023.

[rascal]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7s3jIw5FXc

People say out of hand that Dillingham is the worst defender in the draft. This is probably true, but I'm not sure that Topic is any better. I definitely don't think Salaun is any better. 7:08 begins the manifold, woeful defensive problems, and shows that size isn't the solution. This guy is a total mess on defense. It's nearly hopeless.

He hangs on the rim after a dunk like an awkward player. Unfortunately I see the spurs drafting him at 8 because of the French connection. Let's just assemble the most awkward looking team.

[offset formation]

If you pick Saluan your looking at him playing minimum 3 years straight in G League as it is going to take that long just to work on fundamentals

Probably accurate. That said, if at the end of 3 years, you've got a very polished 20 or 21 year old that is still years away from his cieling, coming to the team, then you do it.do it, assuming PATFO's projection is that he can give you that. But then there's always Samanic and Primo as evidence they don't always project properly. I would say tge thing that separates Salaun is you can see his motor which was not the case with those other two.

[Ariel]

He hangs on the rim after a dunk like an awkward player.
I think he's (consciously or not) trying to oversell his athleticism, when he's not a special vertical athlete.

[BackHome]

Probably accurate. That said, if at the end of 3 years, you've got a very polished 20 or 21 year old that is still years away from his cieling, coming to the team, then you do it.do it, assuming PATFO's projection is that he can give you that. But then there's always Samanic and Primo as evidence they don't always project properly. I would say tge thing that separates Salaun is you can see his motor which was not the case with those other two.

I don't know I think that Holland plays hard both on offense and defense and I think you can easily make a argument that Holland upside is much higher then Salaun. I have been looking at this draft hard and I think I was one of the first to bring him up in the "Draft Pick Forums" so it's not like I am just looking at him. My initial thoughts was that I really like him for our 35th pick, but he was very raw but I liked that he played with passion and a slight edge. As someone pointed out maybe they want him to be Wemby's Frank Br......... Either way if the Spurs pick him I will still root for the kid and in this draft if he sucks there will be no "I Told You" as honestly this draft is just crazy..lol

[rascal]

I don't see Salaun as any type of upgrade to Sochan. What's the point of drafting him.

[ismael-robert]

They're looking for people who will be ready to compete by next year...maybe they believe he can be accelerated

[offset formation]

They're looking for people who will be ready to compete by next year...maybe they believe he can be accelerated

If that's what they want then you probably don't draft this kid. I think you take him at 8 IF you view this draft almost 180° from a normal draft of having a high draft pick ready to go at least by year 2. I think he's at least a 3 to 4 year project. But why would PATFO do that? Unlike teams with draft picks that high, the Spurs are in a fairly unique position.

How?

1. I think the Spurs could get away with that given how many draft picks we have coming in the next few years and how many could be in the top 15 of the draft.

2. Spurs already have a relative full roster with many that you give another year or two to see if they continue to develop with Wemby. And I'm including everyone from Vassell and Sochan to Mamu and Champ.

3. Finally, we are shaping up to have an unparalleled access to free agents moving forward that we can sign given Wemby's almost unheard of draw with them as multiple reports have suggested of vets wanting to come play here. That's never happened here before and certainly not to the extent it seems possible.

4. Having young well skilled players is a win-win in that regard. You either stash and develop talent in Austin that can help win championships or you use said talent to help facilitate trades of said restricted vets on expiring contracts.

Now as for the #4 pick, I think that is one you ideally have plans for immediately or at least by next year. If you take that philosophy, you take a guard /wing combo like Castle or a defensively minded forward/guard combo like Buzelis, imo.

[Dejounte]

https://i.ibb.co/4T8KLzD/52666-A56-337-E-45-E5-AA0-F-4-ED959844-BCC.jpg

GIT R DUN

[spurraider21]

I think he's (consciously or not) trying to oversell his athleticism, when he's not a special vertical athlete.
sochan does this too

[playbonner15]

https://i.ibb.co/4T8KLzD/52666-A56-337-E-45-E5-AA0-F-4-ED959844-BCC.jpg

GIT R DUN

So Salaun at 4 or 8?

[Mr. Body]

Oh God we're drafting him aren't we.

[NASpurs]

https://i.ibb.co/4T8KLzD/52666-A56-337-E-45-E5-AA0-F-4-ED959844-BCC.jpg

GIT R DUN

michaelscott.gif

[NASpurs]

Might as well create his draft thread :lol

[Mr. Body]

What's Matas Buzelis doing there.

[scott]

In a draft like, the problem isn't him at 8, it's Castle at 4 because if you're going to take a project with the latter, it'd be nice to have a baseline level of certainty with the former.

They won't even have that by selecting someone who compares favorably to this illustrious list: Exum, Ntilikina, Culver, Daniels (too soon), Black (too soon) and to a lesser extent (more true PG's) Payton, Mudiay, Dunn, Hayes and (more wings) Winslow, (Stanley) Johnson, (Josh) Jackson.

This is shaping up to the be the '22 draft redux, only with greater stakes because the picks are higher and they have one of the GOAT prospects. They screw this up, heads needs to roll.

Unfortunately - there is no one to make heads roll or hold PAFTO accountable. Most likely scenario is that Wright gets blamed and PAFTO fires him without a single look in the mirror.

[heyheymymy]

31 will look good up in the rafters next to 32

[Mr. Body]

If the Spurs take Salaun, it's not the FO's fault so much as Wemby's.

[Mr. Body]

31 will look good up in the rafters next to 32

Are we talking about Vaults?

[offset formation]

If the Spurs take Salaun, it's not the FO's fault so much as Wemby's.

I grant you Salaun is not NBA ready right now. But if you can potentially get the kid many have scored as having the highest upside in the draft at 8 in a rough draft that could develop into a clear #1in hindsight a few years down the road, is it a bad pick? The Spurs develop as good or better than most. So say in 3 or 4 years you've got a kid that's 22 that is a more athletic version of Al Horford (my comparison not anyone else's), isn't that a steal to add to a championship caliber team in 3 or 4 years?

[Mr. Body]

I grant you Salaun is not NBA ready right now. But if you can potentially get the kid many have scored as having the highest upside in the draft at 8 in a rough draft that could develop into a clear #1in hindsight a few years down the road, is it a bad pick? The Spurs develop as good or better than most. So say in 3 or 4 years you've got a kid that's 22 that is a more athletic version of Al Horford (my comparison not anyone else's), isn't that a steal to add to a championship caliber team in 3 or 4 years?

I have no idea what most people think is upside, but what Salaun has ain't it. Physical gifts and effort ain't upside. Might as well draft an elephant.

[SpursBills]

Salaun at 4. Bub Carrington at 8. This would probably be the biggest stretch that I can think of that still has a chance of happening.

Fuck it, if you're going down in flames, may as well make it interesting.

[scott]

I have a lot of conflicting thoughts on this kid, and have been diving into this thread and the content about him because I also feel there is a good chance he'll be the pick at 8... but...

1. I definitely don't want us to draft him, for reasons a lot of others have stated
2. With that said, I really like the concept of Salaun. The theoretical player is very attractive...
3. But jeeeeez, what a long shot for that theoretical player to develop.
4. Like others, if/when we draft him... I'll be rooting for him, but man I hope it doesn't come to that.

[Duncan2177]

So Buzelis at 4 and Salaun at 8?

[heyheymymy]

I'm maybe not as resistant to Salaun at #8 as everyone else seems.

I see the merits of every criticism. You're right, Salaun is raw. There's some lowlights. The bad footwork. Low block numbers. Poor finishing at the rim. It's all true.

But man there is just something about Tidjane Salaun. He's got that fire. Fuck it, sign me up. The two French freaks. Wemby will keep him bought in and they say Salaun's progression has been meteoric thus far. Especially as a second FRP swing for the fences provided the initial Spurs FRP goes to a more sound prospect Castle/Sheppard. I'm okay taking more of a gamble with the second FRP.

Realize this is kind of a shit take but guess I'm the ST Tiddy sniffer. Since I'm already in the shitter I also add, bet Salaun end up the better French wing from this draft re: Risacher. :hides::

[offset formation]

So Buzelis at 4 and Salaun at 8?

That's my draft.

[Dejounte]

I'm maybe not as resistant to Salaun at #8 as everyone else seems.

I see the merits of every criticism. You're right, Salaun is raw. There's some lowlights. The bad footwork. Low block numbers. Poor finishing at the rim. It's all true.

But man there is just something about Tidjane Salaun. He's got that fire. Fuck it, sign me up. The two French freaks. Wemby will keep him bought in and they say Salaun's progression has been meteoric thus far. Especially as a second FRP swing for the fences provided the initial Spurs FRP goes to a more sound prospect Castle/Sheppard. I'm okay taking more of a gamble with the second FRP.

Realize this is kind of a shit take but guess I'm the ST Tiddy sniffer. Since I'm already in the shitter I also add, bet Salaun end up the better French wing from this draft re: Risacher. :hides::

Welcome fucking aboard!! CHOO CHOOOOOOoooo

[heyheymymy]

Welcome fucking aboard!! CHOO CHOOOOOOoooo

https://c.tenor.com/idMbLvxhzIEAAAAC/tenor.gif

[objective]

11+ pages shitting on a kid as young as Saluan while slobbin' over guys like Buzeli/Holland/Cody Williams is wild to me tbh :lol

I think Holland is only ... 34 days older than Salaun?

And Holland is way ahead of him game wise

[Ariel]

This thread is depressing... it's like watching a car crash in slow motion. You know what's next, you know it's tragic, but you can't avoid it.

Salaun at 4. Bub Carrington at 8. This would probably be the biggest stretch that I can think of that still has a chance of happening.

Fuck it, if you're going down in flames, may as well make it interesting.
I find it more interesting when it's the others that go down in flames.

[My Fault]

I'm maybe not as resistant to Salaun at #8 as everyone else seems.

I see the merits of every criticism. You're right, Salaun is raw. There's some lowlights. The bad footwork. Low block numbers. Poor finishing at the rim. It's all true.

But man there is just something about Tidjane Salaun. He's got that fire. Fuck it, sign me up. The two French freaks. Wemby will keep him bought in and they say Salaun's progression has been meteoric thus far. Especially as a second FRP swing for the fences provided the initial Spurs FRP goes to a more sound prospect Castle/Sheppard. I'm okay taking more of a gamble with the second FRP.

Realize this is kind of a shit take but guess I'm the ST Tiddy sniffer. Since I'm already in the shitter I also add, bet Salaun end up the better French wing from this draft re: Risacher. :hides::
I completely agree with this take, especially considering we have 2 first round picks in next year’s draft.

[heyheymymy]

any deets on that lake photo?

I'm assuming that's hill country, is that recent? I'd like to read too much into it lol

And is that Nando De Culo in the sunglasses?

[offset formation]

https://i.ibb.co/4T8KLzD/52666-A56-337-E-45-E5-AA0-F-4-ED959844-BCC.jpg

GIT R DUN

Holy shit. Just seeing this. This is great for my draft predictions.

[Vienna]

If the Spurs take Salaun, it's not the FO's fault so much as Wemby's.

Jesus. so let's trade Wemby, because he might talk the FO into drafting Salaün????

[Vienna]

I'm maybe not as resistant to Salaun at #8 as everyone else seems.

I see the merits of every criticism. You're right, Salaun is raw. There's some lowlights. The bad footwork. Low block numbers. Poor finishing at the rim. It's all true.

But man there is just something about Tidjane Salaun. He's got that fire. Fuck it, sign me up. The two French freaks. Wemby will keep him bought in and they say Salaun's progression has been meteoric thus far. Especially as a second FRP swing for the fences provided the initial Spurs FRP goes to a more sound prospect Castle/Sheppard. I'm okay taking more of a gamble with the second FRP.

Realize this is kind of a shit take but guess I'm the ST Tiddy sniffer. Since I'm already in the shitter I also add, bet Salaun end up the better French wing from this draft re: Risacher. :hides::

you are not completely alone with your opinion. and I see it the same way, if you have 2 picks, put one of the two on a high risk, high reward gamble. and it seems as if some bring in new superlatives for rawness of Salaün every day. it would be more helpful to evaluate what he already can do, not what you can't see from an 18 years old kid yet.

fact is, Salaün displayed a significant development over the season. his first full season with the pros.
over the first half of the season he delivered 6.9 PPG, 29% 3s on 3 attempts.
over the second half he got 11.3PPG, 35% 3s on 5.6 attempts.
in the play off series against a much stronger Paris team he had 13.3 PPG. (29% 3s, 5.7 attempts)
you build on what you saw he can do, even if it didn't work constantly. but he had some really impressive games.
so the evaluation will be like this: if this kid was able to deliver like one good game out of 3, next step will be, to get 2 good games out of 3.
Salaün seems to learn the game on the fly. he has a great motor and all reports indicate, he has a great dedication and work ethic as well.
Giannis was raw, Gobert was raw, in hindsight noone complains that they didn't devilver from day one.

[Cardinal]

https://i.ibb.co/4T8KLzD/52666-A56-337-E-45-E5-AA0-F-4-ED959844-BCC.jpg

GIT R DUN

Salaun at 4. Lock it in

[spursparker9]

Salaun at 4. Lock it in

Man is this recent pic? Wemby look skinnier than ever

[CGD]

https://i.ibb.co/4T8KLzD/52666-A56-337-E-45-E5-AA0-F-4-ED959844-BCC.jpg

GIT R DUN

Welp I guess this is happening. Jermey has some competition over the next 2 years.

[BatManu20]

https://i.ibb.co/4T8KLzD/52666-A56-337-E-45-E5-AA0-F-4-ED959844-BCC.jpg

GIT R DUN


https://i.imgur.com/ePyzcty.jpeg

[HankChinaski]

Honestly Salaun at 8 isn't the worst pick to make in this draft considering how flat (not terrible) it is. But there are potential safer picks that could provide immediate floor improvements to the current roster.

Wouldn't go jumping up and down with anger or joy at it but see the potential swing the spurs would be trying to make with his selection.

[John B]

https://i.ibb.co/4T8KLzD/52666-A56-337-E-45-E5-AA0-F-4-ED959844-BCC.jpg

GIT R DUN

Salaun at 8th it is.

[John B]

It finally came to me this guy is one of our old draft picks - Ryan Richards

More like Ewwbanks with the way he cuts and likes to punish the rim. But I’m hoping he’s more.

[couchman]

If we’re going to take a wild upside swing I’d rather go for Bub, who has shown some serious skills and just needs to become more efficient

[spurraider21]

"hes bad at everything but he has that dog in him, lets take him at #8 overall" is absolute madness

[offset formation]

"hes bad at everything but he has that dog in him, lets take him at #8 overall" is absolute madness

More like, he's average at most things right now but dude has a longer reach than Anthony Davis, plays good defense, has a stroke that makes you think he'll be solid, and has a unceasing motor so let's take him at #8 to see what we can do with him in 3 years

[spurraider21]

More like, he's average at most things right now but dude has a longer reach than Anthony Davis, plays good defense, has a stroke that makes you think he'll be solid, and has a unceasing motor so let's take him at #8 to see what we can do with him in 3 years
he doesnt play good defense

[Mr. Body]

I'm not sure he average at anything except his shot is pretty good.

[offset formation]

he doesnt play good defense

He's average but he's good playing passing lanes which portends a higher BBIQ. The man on man can be taught with his motor.

[scottspurs]

If he did get a promise don’t you have to take him at 4? You don’t hand out a promise and hope he makes it to your 2nd pick

[stnick2261]

If he did get a promise don’t you have to take him at 4? You don’t hand out a promise and hope he makes it to your 2nd pick

If you want him at 4, you don't have to promise him.

You can tell him, "We would like to draft you, but we would need you to drop to 8 for that. If you stop doing workouts, we'll promise to draft you at 8."

[Mr. Body]

Really though Salaun goes 7 to Portland. They get their more ready guy at 14.

[spurraider21]

:lmao Salaun was off the board and B-Wrong panicked :lmao

[Dejounte]

https://youtu.be/NvpQ7pdiFdo?feature=shared

Don says they were close to risking Castle fall to 8th by picking Salaun at 4. They wanted Salaun and they really wanted both players If they could.

[baseline bum]

https://youtu.be/NvpQ7pdiFdo?feature=shared

Don says they were close to risking Castle fall to 8th by picking Salaun at 4. They wanted Salaun and they really wanted both players If they could.

He's full of shit. If they really wanted Salaun we wouldn't have heard shit about it like with Castle.

[John B]

If they thought Castle could’ve been the number on this draft but was contemplating on risking everything to draft Salaun at 4, then they probably saw something special from Salaun worth risking for, the next Giannis??

[BackHome]

Or it’s just smoke screen that Spurs were sending out pre draft

[BacktoBasics]

If they thought Castle could’ve been the number on this draft but was contemplating on risking everything to draft Salaun at 4, then they probably saw something special from Salaun worth risking for, the next Giannis??

Defining physical length and athleticism as something special was probably on everyone’s notes. Castle is an actual basketball player. I’m sure that alone talked them off the cliff.

I hope the kids career works out but he shouldn’t have been top ten.

[BatManu20]

Idk. Donny is typically full of shit, but I could also see this being true. A young French prospect that fits a position of need and who just so happens to be buddies with your franchise player is something I think the Spurs would definitely bite on tbh. Who knows. Irrelevant at this point either way.

[DPG21920]

This is bullshit. If Spurs really wanted 2 guys, they possessed more than enough to trade up and ensure it happened.

[Uriel]

So Knecht wasn’t the target at 8?

[baseline bum]

If they thought Castle could’ve been the number on this draft but was contemplating on risking everything to draft Salaun at 4, then they probably saw something special from Salaun worth risking for, the next Giannis??

Looked more like the next Thanasis

[SpursFan86]

Can you imagine this place if we went with Salaun at 4 and then traded away #8 after Castle wasn’t there? :lmao

[Mr. Body]

So Knecht wasn’t the target at 8?

Not clear, but some guy figured out which players the Spurs insiders refused to talk about, according to LJ, vs. who was left at 8, and it was Knecht. Although I think someone pointed out they never would say anything about Buzelis either.

[Degoat]

ST gonna be in shambles if Salaun goes off tomorrow assuming he plays lol

[Mr. Body]

ST gonna be in shambles if Salaun goes off tomorrow assuming he plays lol

Branham and Barlow destroyed in last SL.

[Degoat]

Branham and Barlow destroyed in last SL.

They were 2nd year players they were suppose too, and I wouldn’t consider what they did as destroying the SL, neither even averaged over 20ppg

[Mr. Body]

They were 2nd year players they were suppose too, and I wouldn’t consider what they did as destroying the SL, neither even averaged over 20ppg

They were pretty dominant.

[CGD]

ST gonna be in shambles if Salaun goes off tomorrow assuming he plays lol

Nah, just wait until Dillingham’s first SL game

[BackHome]

Drafting Salaun at 4 would be have been like Drafting Primo but on Steroids - To be honest I think the whole Saluan at 8 was just Spurs smoke screen

[Pauleta14]

Can you imagine this place if we went with Salaun at 4 and then traded away #8 after Castle wasn’t there? :lmao

Can you imagine this place if Salaün happens becomes the next Giannis and Castle fails? :lol

[BackHome]

I don’t think he was ever an option at 4 and I don’t think even 1 poster was backing Saluan at 4 to be honest - Now if Dilly becomes an All Star your going to have a few posters coming out with receipts

[scott]

If any player taken between 8-35 turns out to be an all-star, and the 2030 swap doesn't convey and the MIN31 pick ends up being number 26... well, hopefully Slovenian data server infrastructure is improved by then.

[onechance87]

If any player taken between 8-35 turns out to be an all-star, and the 2030 swap doesn't convey and the MIN31 pick ends up being number 26... well, hopefully Slovenian data server infrastructure is improved by then.

lol if that happens,Heads should roll then.Especially if their real good in the next couple of years.The players that were linked
to us taking,Like dilly,carter,topic,knecht,williams,matas.I will be watching them closely along with furphy and other second round picks
we passed on.

[Mugen]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vnb9V6UN8rc

[Dejounte]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vnb9V6UN8rc

Yeah, too bad the Spurs missed out on their target.

[Uriel]

Yeah, too bad the Spurs missed out on their target.
Is this confirmed?

[exstatic]

Is this confirmed?

No. No one ever finds out who the Spurs would have drafted, at least not for years and years.

[widowmaker]

He’ll washout in charlotte after a couple of seasons.

[Mugen]

Is this confirmed?

Pretty evident based on how the draft shook out after he was picked by Charlotte tbh.

[Mr. Body]

He looked pretty lost in that game, but that's totally expected. He's huge. I think he needs to get more than a single rebound though.

[itzsoweezee]

I knew this dude was going to be good

[spurraider21]

i was very much against picking him. early returns look nice in preseason though. good for him

[onechance87]

salaun good so far,Hopefully our boy castle pops off soon.

[Mugen]

I don't know why people were doubting the shot tbh. He was at 40% from 3 for a big chunk of his last season in France and the form looked good.

He's about 2 years away from doing anything else at an NBA level but he already looks significantly better than what he showed in Summer League.