Tidjane Salaun was a tantalizing prospect for NBA draft fans and evaluators. Salaun’s rookie preview may have more ‘guesswork’ than others, but his talent and upside are obvious. The Hornets hope they drafted another young and promising wing talent for years to come. Let’s take a look at Salaun’s rookie preview for this upcoming season.
NBA Rookie Preview: Tidjane Salaun
Prospect Profile
Tidjane Salaun is an international prospect who comes to the NBA after playing professionally in France. Salaun averaged 9.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 1.0 assists per game for Cholet Basket this past season. He also comes from a basketball family with his sister, Janelle Salaun, playing professionally in Europe and a part of the French national team.
Overall, Salaun is a lanky six-foot-ten wing who has shown a clean shooting strike combined with solid athleticism. At first glance, teams will be reminded a lot of Michael Porter’s athletic profile as a pro comparison. Shooting the three-ball well during different stretches made Salaun’s draft range very wide. His projected archetype as a six-foot-ten wing who can shoot the three ball and be a fluid athlete is extremely valuable. There is clear room though for development in his physical growth, playmaking, and overall feel for the game. He’s a project pick in most eyes, and this is what makes Salaun’s rookie preview so tumultuous.
The thought of what he’ll become is promising, but what he produces on the floor is often a mixed bag. His NBA summer league performances are the perfect example of this. Salaun averaged 9.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 1.5 assists in three games. This is eerily similar to his professional statistics, and they aren’t all that bad considering he showed some promising flashes. However, Salaun failed to record a steal or block and made only one of his ten three-pointers in Vegas. This leads to major questions about his impact on winning basketball despite his physical traits.
Team Fit
Similar to his prospect profile and how good he’ll become, Salaun’s team fit is also based on projection. On paper, Salaun could give the Hornets great lineup versatility as a jumbo wing or combo forward. Both LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller have proven to be great young talents at the point guard and shooting guard spots. Both are listed at six-foot-seven and adding Salaun at either forward spot alongside Miles Bridges and Mark Williams would be a very lengthy lineup. The shortest player on the floor in that scenario would be six-foot-seven, and there would be a lot of versatility with this group of players on offense and defense.
The Hornets are very young though and Salaun may not be ready to start right away at the NBA level. Veteran players such as Grant Williams and Seth Curry should provide good value, but the overall roster doesn’t project to be a top-tier team. The Hornets needed another impact player with this draft pick, especially considering Ball’s persistent issues staying healthy. This is what made Salaun somewhat of a surprise pick at number six overall. He was widely regarded as a developmental prospect with great upside rather than a plug-and-play impact player.
Predictions
The Hornets may use this season to identify which players on their roster are long-term pieces, and which aren’t. The Hornets aren’t in a full rebuild, but they can certainly be categorized as in the process of one. While this may add volume opportunities for Salaun’s rookie preview, I still see him as a development prospect right now. His feel for the game and current lack of playmaking will relegate him to mostly a spot-up role on offense. On defense, Salaun still has so many question marks as well. What position can he guard best? He’ll have to increase foot speed to guard faster wings, and he’ll need to add strength to guard power forwards and centers.
Salaun has a great opportunity in Charlotte to become a great player, it just may not be early on. If the Hornets have a rough season and Salaun gets volume opportunities for stats, I still think a second-team All-Rookie selection is his ceiling. Even then, that would mean Salaun showed he was a much more complete player overall than he has so far. While being the sixth overall pick comes with immediate expectations, fans may need to be just a little more patient with Salaun. He has the potential to grow physically and mentally into an outstanding wing, but he does have to grow.
