One of Tidjane Salaun’s biggest strengths is his high-level athleticism at just 18 years old. He is a constant mover on offense who needs to be constantly accounted for lest he exploit a hole in the defense and cut to the rim for a direct pass or a lob. The Cholet wing doesn’t take possessions off and has an extremely impressive motor for his age. Even though he needs to grow in his understanding of defensive fundamentals, the effort is there. He projects to be a solid on-ball defender due to his athleticism alone.
Even though other parts of Salaun’s offensive game are underdeveloped, off-ball play is where he really shines. He has a really good understanding of space and does a pretty good job of picking his spots. Things seem to come easily to him when the ball isn’t in his hands. As much as self-creation would be huge for his game, there’s definitely a positive outcome for Salaun where that doesn’t come to fruition. If he’s paired with a capable lead playmaker and an offensive system with a lot of moving parts, he could be very dangerous.
The full package of length, athleticism, and motor means that Tidjane Salaun has plenty of upside as a defensive playmaker. He projects to be a versatile defender who can stay in front of guards and wings, and may even offer a little bit of interior defense as well. The good thing for Salaun is that he has so many different pieces of his game he can in order to stick, and the defensive side is definitely one of those pathways.
Weaknesses: Shooting, Self-Creation, Timeline
It’s universally accepted that Tidjane Salaun just had the best shooting season of his young career. The problem is that the best shooting season of his young career consisted of 40.6% from the field, 31.6% from three, and 74.8% from the free throw line. He just isn’t a good shooter. This seems to be a touch issue based on his free throw indicators, plus he also lacks a floater or a reliable midrange game and is prone to bad misses. The mechanics are there, but the results have not been. Salaun’s cutting ability gives him a decent offensive floor, but reliable shotmaking would round him out into a more dynamic weapon. His shooting confidence is a really positive indicator that he can figure it out.
Salaun displayed potential self-creation ability this past season, but he still has a long way to go. He doesn’t quite have a tight enough handle to reliably make things happen off the dribble. His physical tools allow him to create space fairly well, but rarely did he both do this cleanly and also make the shot. Salaun doesn’t need to be a self-creator to stick, but his ceiling is considerably higher if that part of his game turns out to be more than just hypothetical.
As things stand, Salaun likely won’t be ready to contribute to an NBA team for a few years. He has tools and has shown enticing flashes of two-way ability, but he’s essentially a lump of clay. The 18-year-old needs time and structure, two things not every team can necessarily afford to provide him. Whichever team drafts him needs to be realistic about how quickly they expect him to return value, because it likely won’t be for a while, if ever.
Best NBA Fit: Oklahoma City Thunder, San Antonio Spurs
Bottom line, Tidjane Salaun needs structure. If he finds himself going to 1) a complete mess of an organization or 2) an organization that isn’t willing to commit resources to his development, he will wash out of the league quickly. Both Oklahoma City and San Antonio can provide the Frenchman with the structure he needs to succeed. The Thunder just finished as the top seed in the Western Conference with a very young team and are set up to be contenders for the foreseeable future. They can afford to give Salaun time to develop and figure it out. The Spurs are looking to build around Victor Wembanyama and are well-regarded for their development staff. Their timeline and organizational culture are a good fit.
NBA Comparison: Who Even Knows, Dude
Tidjane Salaun could be anything, and he could also be nothing. He’s the definition of a lottery ticket. I’m finding it very difficult to find an apt comparison because, as almost any scouting report will tell you, Salaun currently isn’t a very good basketball player. He can get there, but the range of outcomes is vast. The 18-year-old is currently an off-ball non-shooting wing, but if the shooting improves and the self-creation chops blossom, we’ll be looking at a completely different player than what he is now.
Draft Projection: Late Lottery to Mid-First Round
The latest intel has Salaun’s draft range starting at No. 8 overall to the San Antonio Spurs. I think given the resources a team will have to commit to his development, his draft range might be a little more volatile than picks 8-12. It appears likely that he will be off the board before the end of the lottery, but don’t be surprised if the raw prospect slips a little and hears his name in the mid-first round.
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