Tidjane Salaun is now a name popping up on mocks. Now projected as someone who is a lotto guy. Haven’t gotten to watch too much of him yet. 6’10 (6’11 barefoot?) 210lb Turns 19 one month after the draft Observations so far: - Right away, the offensive potential is evident. He’s still raw, but his effortlessness on offense looks so much like MPJ to me. Salaun is plenty athletic as well. He is going to be a very good 3 level scorer. Between he, Matas, Zacch, Ron, Cody, he has the most offensive upside. He does get to the line enough for someone whose barely played organized basketball. - Very good moving without the ball. Inconsistent shot, but it looks effortless. He also loves to back down smaller guys. He just sounds like someone who would fit with Scoot and Shae on offense. - Has all the tools to be a really good defender. He is not as polished as Zacch for sure, but he has much more potential on both ends. Salaun tries incredibly hard on that end, and he does get a lot of deflections. He just needs time to fill out and continue to develop anticipation. Honestly, I have no idea where he ends up, but I’d looove to take a gamble on him with the Warriors pick. I kinda really want Batum back in Portland.
Similar to Risacher. Better handles, but the rest of his game is really raw. The lower floor scares some people off but in a weak draft like this I could see him going 15-25, easy. I'm a bit behind on his scouting admittedly.
I actually think Risacher is a better ball handler and playmaker right now. I’d argue he doesn’t actually have a low floor at all. With the potential to be a great shooter combined with the athleticism to actually allow good defensive potential? I’d say his 3-D potential is already going to put him in the top 15 by draft night, for sure. There’s still a lot of time between now and June, Coulibaly basically shot up like what, 2-3 weeks before draft night? Dieng also just shot up like crazy a few years ago.
I’ve really only started looking into him myself after seeing him pop up on DraftExpress. Right now, as a prospect, I do like Coulibaly more as a prospect. But I don’t think Salaun is significantly more raw. Size wise, Salaun definitely looks taller, by at least an inch, maybe even two. Coulibaly’s wingspan is longer by like 1.25 inches, but probably a 3-4 inch advantage on max vert. I’d also say Salaun moves just as well as Coulibaly. From what I can gather, there is no real concern in his game to me, in terms of a fear that something could stifle his development. He’s not someone you want handling the ball a lot, but he will bring it up better than Shae was bringing it up as a rookie. His size and athleticism though, he would be able to play so well off the ball with Scoot and Shae. He’s an efficient scorer as well, shoots around 50% across all leagues in his Euro comp, which is really impressive for someone his age. He’s still an inconsistent shooter, but he’s been hovering around the 38% mark. He also should be a good perimeter defender for someone his size. His on ball ability is eventually going to determine whether or not he ever becomes a star. I’m not totally convinced he’ll ever be a PG13 kind of forward, he’ll be more of a Klay kind of forward, maybe with better ball handling. The playmaking potential is why I’d still take Buzelis and Williams over Salaun, maybe Castle as well.
People gave me crap for saying we should take him with the GS pick. He looks a lot better than Donovan Clingan to me, who is a projected mid 1st round pick.
Yeah, Clingan is free-falling. He's got lower body injuries that are being exacerbated by weight issues (he put on 20lbs thinking that would help him. Its not). He's always struggled with his weight. Combined with the foot issues I think I'm out on him for now.
Spent some time catching up on Salaun. I think you're right. He's "on a heater" right now, which if he keeps this up will cement him in the lottery. This is good. It means we may have more options and don't have to take a wing with our first pick. I buy the shot now, which many questioned because of the height it reaches in the air (lol,ok). I feel a lot better about his floor and his ceiling. I'm on Tyler Smith again, too. This kid really can play. It's just tough to isolate him because of how brutal the Ignite are to watch.
https://www.pointmadebasketball.com/mock-draft-05-2024 This has been my favorite mock so far. This has us taking Sarr at #5 and Salaun at #12. That would be as good of a first round as I can hope for.
Lot of stuff in here, updated after G league showcase “Sarr is probably the best player in this draft right now, and I wouldn’t have said that last year,” an NBA scout told HoopsHype. “Sarr was at Overtime Elite the last two years and got a lot better since going overseas. He’s a big man who can shoot. He’s got a feel for the game. He’s put on some weight for added strength.” https://hoopshype.com/lists/2024-ag...saiah-collier-alex-sarr-battle-for-no-1-pick/
Considered very weak draft: "With the calendar flipping to 2024, HoopsHype has updated where the top prospects currently stand for the NBA Draft by compiling nine mock drafts from ESPN, The Athletic, Bleacher Report, NBADraft.net, Yahoo, CBS Sports, Sports Illustrated, SB Nation, and USA TODAY’s For The Win. HoopsHype also spoke with multiple NBA executives and scouts for their insight on the prospects for the second edition of the 2024 aggregate mock draft. The consensus is this draft class is underwhelming compared to years past. “You’ll see a lot of guys getting drafted at positions they shouldn’t and teams trading out,” an NBA executive told HoopsHype. “Some guys who would’ve been second-round picks last year if they were lucky could go in the first round this year.” I noticed the guy they having going at 4 is projected to be a nice role player.
Sarr reminds me a bit of Rasheed Wallace. If we drafted him, we could move Grant to SF. We only have a 10% chance of getting the #1 pick. But this being a weak draft, I wonder if we could use the GS pick to move up. As crappy as we are, as of now, we have a greater chance at picking 6-9 than we do 1-5.
In most drafts, unlikely, but with this draft being so wide open(for now), I think there's definite value in having that GS pick, and being able to move up a bit to get the guy we want, while also being value in a team ahead of us trading back, getting a guy they still really like, and having a 2nd lotto pick.
How many teams DON'T have good picks this summer? I wonder if "this is a weak draft" is PR spin by teams that traded their 2024 picks?
Honestly, I think I'd prefer to use the GSW pick to pay off the debt to Chicago (assuming they would agree).
Not PR. Just do a little scouting yourself. Watch some actual game film (not just highlights). There is some talent there, but players selected in the 6-12 range last year will be top 5 picks this year. Last year's 30-45 guys will be 20-35 type guys.
I dunno if I want to trade what could be a lotto pick this season for what is guaranteed to never be a lotto pick, just to open up future picks. Though I'd look in to a 3 way deal where we send Brogdon to NY, one of their picks this year to Chicago, and our pick returned to us.
