This 12 months the Spurs have two lottery picks to make use of within the SB Nation 2024 mock draft. The No. 4 decide was used to pick out Stephon Fortress. With the eighth decide, we took a riskier method. Since Matas Buzelis and Cody Williams have been off the board by the second choice at eighth, Pounding the Rock took Tidjane Salaun for these causes:
At this stage, Salaun appears too uncooked to contribute a lot as a rookie however his youth, dimension, motor and budding skillset make him a worthwhile undertaking. If he reaches his ceiling, Salaun may very well be a do-it-all ahead who affords capturing, passing and protection whereas additionally with the ability to play heart for stretches on small lineups. The Spurs would must be affected person with him, however they may mould him right into a uniquely precious participant.
Salaun may be a undertaking, however he’s too intriguing to go up. There will not be numerous 18-year-old forwards together with his bodily profile — 6’10 with a 7’1 wingspan and above-average athleticism — with a viable perimeter recreation and the instruments to ultimately grow to be a defensive presence. In a extra stacked draft class, upside alone wouldn’t warrant a top-10 choice, however there are not any positive issues this 12 months and the Spurs, which have two picks, can afford to take a giant swing.
There’s severe bust potential with Salaun. He’s as uncooked as they arrive and there’s little manufacturing to again up claims that he can do something at an NBA degree. In slightly below 23 minutes per recreation, he averaged 9 factors and 4 rebounds, had extra turnovers than assists, solely hit 33 % of his threes and blocked solely eight photographs in a whole season within the French league. He used his size and fast burst to play the passing lanes effectively, averaging over a steal a recreation, however he wasn’t defender. On offense, he was a roleplayer. He had a number of video games by which he regarded incredible and others by which he regarded misplaced.
The upside is tantalizing, although. If the shot is actual, he’ll have a talent he can depend on sooner quite than later to get some minutes as he learns the basics. He might even grow to be a viable small-ball heart since he’s so younger and will add extra muscle. It might take some time to get there, assuming it occurs in any respect, however the absolutely realized model of Salaun could be an extremely helpful participant and doubtlessly a starter subsequent to Victor Wembanyama.
To see the whole SB Nation Mock Draft, try the mom web page tomorrow.
