The 2024 NBA Draft will be held on Wednesday, June 26th and Thursday, June 27th. Our resident draft expert Bryant has semi-retired from draft scouting, so we won’t have his usual in-depth breakdowns to rely on. So we’re going to do our draft coverage a little differently this year. We’ll present some prospects, share some highlight videos, and share some general thoughts before opening it up to the group to discuss.
Let’s start with this: Tidjane Salaun is a prospect I would be shocked if the Kings draft. He hasn’t been mocked to the Kings in any mock drafts that I pay attention to. Several mocks have Salaun going before the 13th pick, while others have him going after. But there is nothing about Salaun that makes me think he’s a Kings pick. So why are we discussing him today? Because Monte McNair has a habit of taking players we didn’t write about, and I want to have all the bases covered.
NBA Position: Wing
General Info: 18-year-old, played at Cholet, LNB Pro A. From France.
Measurables: 6’8.75″ w/o shoes, 217.4 lbs, 7’1.5″ wingspan, 9’2″ standing reach.
2023-2024 Season Statistics: 9.0 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 1.0 APG, 1.2 SPG, 0.2 BPG, 1.5 TPG (33 games played, 22.7 minutes per game), 37.3% FG, 32.9 % 3P, 76.7% FT
Salaun is a very young and very raw prospect. With his length and athleticism, it’s easy to understand why a rebuilding team would be intrigued. It’s why Salaun is often mocked to the Portland Trail Blazers with the 14th pick. For the Kings, he would be a pick who would be VERY unlikely to contribute at all in his rookie season, and may actually need a couple seasons to develop his game before being ready to compete on a playoff team.
Tidjane’s length is crazy. If he can fill out with some muscle, he could eventually be a really exciting post player. But right now he’s a lanky lob threat with an inconsistent shot who doesn’t contribute in other areas. I’m particularly dismayed by his lack of rebounding.
It would be a real head-scratcher if the Kings selected Salaun with the 13th pick. If they do, I’d immediately be looking for the reports of a trade.
