The first round of the 2024 NBA Draft is complete. The Charlotte Hornets selected forward Tidjane Salaun off the Wembanyama tree shockingly with the sixth pick in the NBA Draft.
Salaun has cut his teeth playing in the LNB Élite, the crème de la creme of French basketball, since 2022. He was the third French player who was chosen in the first six picks of the draft. The other two players are Zaccharie Risacher selected by the Atlanta Hawks with the number one pick and Alex Sarr drafted by the Washington Wizards with the number two pick. It was the first time in NBA history that the first two picks had no college basketball background.
It is the first significant move of the Charles Lee era for the Hornets. Lee was officially introduced to the city as the head coach of the Hornets on Tuesday, over a month after he was officially hired for the job, replacing former coach Steve Clifford.
Salaün averaged 9.7 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 1.1 steals in 54 games with Cholet Basket this season. He earned the honor of being named the 2023-24 Champions League Best Young Player.
Salaun has something you cannot coach, great size for a forward at almost 6’9″ barefoot with a 7’1″ wingspan. He uses that length to be a monster on the boards wreaking havoc as a disruptor in the passing lanes. He has a long way to go when it comes to learning the tricks of the trade on the defensive end, however, he has the work ethic and the poise to be a plus on that side of the ball with his physical attributes. He shows flashes of brilliance, but he is incredibly raw and needs to put it all together.
He has gotten better in the most important aspect of the game today, which is shooting the ball, but it is still not up to par. He is able to create open shots for himself at times, but he has difficulty converting them. Salaun has moments where he makes sweet passes, but he also has a propensity to be careless with the rock. In order for him to make it in the league long term, he needs to find a way to make the highs more of a trend instead of a blip on the radar screen.
Embed from Getty ImagesAs stated previously, Salaun has displayed glimpses of necessary skills you would want and need a forward to possess. However, he struggles to utilize those gifts to his advantage on a consistent basis. He needs to play with more control and focus. While he was a adequate shooter this season, he has some underwhelming shooting splits from the line and at the rim.
The Hornets coaching staff will get to work right away at building upon Salaun’s raw talents in the hopes of turning him into a two-way star. That will start at the summer league in early July.
The overwhelming question facing Charlotte heading into the draft on Wednesday night was whether or not the front office, led by new general manager Jeff Peterson, wanted to trade or hold on to the sixth pick. There was not a bookend favorite No. 1 player in this year’s draft and some experts say that this draft could leave a lot to be desired. As a result, mock drafts were scattered with predictions varying wildly based on pre-draft workouts and interviews shaking up the projected picks.
The Hornets were linked to trade rumors, including a potential deal with the Houston Rockets for the third pick, but ultimately decided to select Salaun.
Locked On Hornets’ Walker Mehl and Doug Branson indicated Charlotte had their eye on a trio of players: Kentucky’s Reed Sheppard (who was taken third overall by the Rockets), Connecticut’s Stephon Castle (who was drafted 4th by the San Antonio Spurs), and Tennessee’s sharp shooter Dalton Knecht (who went 17th to the Lakers). The most recent mock draft by the Associated Press had the Hornets drafting Hickory native Rob Dillingham with the sixth pick. Dillingham wound up with the Minnesota Timberwolves, who made a deal with San Antonio for the No. 8 pick in the draft.
“There’s this idea of the Hornets need to upgrade their wing defense and not included in that list are guys like Ron Holland or maybe Cody Williams,” Branson said. “It took a while for the mystery box to open up, but people are finally coalescing behind a list of names for the Hornets.”
At the end of the day, the Hornets opted to stay put at six and chose Salaun. It was a historic night for France, which had three players taken in the top six picks. There are now only two nations that have seen three native players taken in the top 10 picks. The other is the United States.
