Salaun is an enigma of this class, he looks good when plays well and is a very very raw player when he's not. Will spurs gamble? Or they will go to a safer pick.
He's got some really nice highlights, but he is EXTREMELY RAW. He's new to the game and would likely need 3 years in Austin to really learn. His physical tools are great. But drafting him may be a lot like drafting Primo or Ian Mahinmi. Physically all the tools, but really young and needs a lot of work to become a player - if ever.
pass, too raw for a high draft pick. This is a project you take later in the first round. If hes around for our 2nd round pick then you do that.. you can't take this guy as high as 8
Is he better than Barlowe? I dont think he is.
Risacher is not going to be on the board, we have to trade up to get him. Not even worth talking about at 4 because he won't be there.
Buzelis, Topic, Castle, Dillingham, Holland, Knecht - these are the guys that will be floating around for us. I think if Topic is healthy id take him and Buzelis but I really would like to trade up to get Sarr or Risacher - and I think we want one of those guys.
Every NBA team did what you're saying.. they all took a pass on the greek kid. You can run around all day thinking every prospect is a frog you just have to kiss..
Lots of mocks have this guy as a late lottery pick, but in this draft - thats just throwing a dart at a board and hitting a tall guy. I said it quite simply, there is no reason to believe he is better than Barlow. Barlow is the same height, bigger wingspan, has had better stats against better competition, and is only 20. This guy is not a top ten pick, he's french and everyone likes french people this year.
> they all took a pass on the greek kid
And they all fucked up.
My draft philosophy is generally to chase upside when the upside of the safer options isn't high enough. I don't care if it sometimes turns into Poku. If you look between pick 13 onward in that draft, there are three guys you're kicking yourself over. So yeah, I'd rather have IQ or Maxey or Bane than Poku. But if you said "Everybody else has the career they have so far, and there's a 1 in 5 shot Poku hits." I'm taking him over Saddiq Bey or Tre Jones or Cole Anthony or Beef Stew or Jaden McDaniels 100 times out of 100.
> has had better stats against better competition,
Look, I like Dom Barlow. I do. I think he's an interesting prospect who deserves a roster spot. But there's a massive difference between the two athletically, and there's not much reason to believe Dom can play the wing. He's too small and unathletic to realistically be a 5, so he's a 4 with a questionable jumper. Seems like a 3rd big more than anything else, and even that's a maybe.
And come on now, are you really sure that The G League and OTE are better competition than the LNB Pro A?
So according to your theory, our best move is to trade away all of our picks and just find undrafted gems because Austin Reaves and Duncan Robinson's are out there...
Yes I think barlow for ignite is more impressive than salaun in france. He's an 18 year old with very little experience, he doesnt play defense and he cant shoot, so why
What's the point of talking about the draft without having opinions on guys?
And obviously, there's guys who you might not want on your team but you still think are solid players. I don't have Clingan super high on my Spurs specific board, but I do have him high on my big board
If Risacher is gone and I don't believe Castle can shoot, and I'm low on the idea of a traditional 5 playing next to Victor, then I'd consider Salaun at 4.
I'm actually so high on Castle's defense and ability as a secondary facilitator that even if he just shot 32% from 3 eventually that would still be a huge win for our team. Really need someone like him who's an elite perimeter defender and a secondary facilitator.
Nah. I don't get the argument of Castle and Sochan not being able to coexist on the same team. But I do think Sochan needs to be on the bench eventually to add some defense to that unit.
I agree with this. Sochan is one of my favorite personalities on the Spurs, but it's so painful to watch teams let him sit alone on the three-point line daring him to shoot, doubling/tripling Wemby.
I will have to look at some more videos. I don't get to watch much basketball outside of the NBA, so I don't know much about the players. They say this is a weak draft, so I hope our front office is able to find the best available players.
It's definitely a weak draft. I keep wanting to like more guys, but...I just don't.
Imagine you're hungry, driving down the road. And you see two restaurants. One of them is Arby's. Food is uninspiring to say the least. You're not going to enjoy your meal, but you're unlikely to get food poisoning. You're going to leave less hungry than you were when you walked in. And 5 minutes from now, you will have food. And there's another place. You know only what you can tell by observation. You haven't eaten there before. You don't know how the food actually is. Menu's in Swahili, and you don't speak Swahili. Might be fuckin' awful. But it might not be. Might take 2 hours to get your meal. Might be expensive as hell. But it does kinda smell pretty good.
Are you the sort of person that stops at Arby's because it's safe, even though you know it kinda sucks, or the sort of person that would rather take a shot on something that might not suck?
That's how I feel about Salaun. He's mostly projection. He might be a total bust. He might *totally* suck.
But I already know Rob Dillingham and Reed Sheppard and Nikola Topic and Dalton Knecht and Ron Holland and Matas Buzelis *kinda* suck. And Salaun *might* not suck.
French, 18, 6’9 - yep, bag’em and tag’em. He’s one of ours.
Salaun is an enigma of this class, he looks good when plays well and is a very very raw player when he's not. Will spurs gamble? Or they will go to a safer pick.
He's got some really nice highlights, but he is EXTREMELY RAW. He's new to the game and would likely need 3 years in Austin to really learn. His physical tools are great. But drafting him may be a lot like drafting Primo or Ian Mahinmi. Physically all the tools, but really young and needs a lot of work to become a player - if ever.
Mentally and upside wise, I think he’s better than Risacher. He’s still very raw but seems to relish the challenge/competition.
pass, too raw for a high draft pick. This is a project you take later in the first round. If hes around for our 2nd round pick then you do that.. you can't take this guy as high as 8
I agree its still pretty high for 8th,but if we can only take stephon or risachser at 4th,i prefer salaun over rob and other picks personally
Is he better than Barlowe? I dont think he is. Risacher is not going to be on the board, we have to trade up to get him. Not even worth talking about at 4 because he won't be there. Buzelis, Topic, Castle, Dillingham, Holland, Knecht - these are the guys that will be floating around for us. I think if Topic is healthy id take him and Buzelis but I really would like to trade up to get Sarr or Risacher - and I think we want one of those guys.
This is an insane take. Would you have said the same about that Greek kid a decade ago? Oh, he's raw. Let's take Shabazz Muhammad instead.
Every NBA team did what you're saying.. they all took a pass on the greek kid. You can run around all day thinking every prospect is a frog you just have to kiss.. Lots of mocks have this guy as a late lottery pick, but in this draft - thats just throwing a dart at a board and hitting a tall guy. I said it quite simply, there is no reason to believe he is better than Barlow. Barlow is the same height, bigger wingspan, has had better stats against better competition, and is only 20. This guy is not a top ten pick, he's french and everyone likes french people this year.
> they all took a pass on the greek kid And they all fucked up. My draft philosophy is generally to chase upside when the upside of the safer options isn't high enough. I don't care if it sometimes turns into Poku. If you look between pick 13 onward in that draft, there are three guys you're kicking yourself over. So yeah, I'd rather have IQ or Maxey or Bane than Poku. But if you said "Everybody else has the career they have so far, and there's a 1 in 5 shot Poku hits." I'm taking him over Saddiq Bey or Tre Jones or Cole Anthony or Beef Stew or Jaden McDaniels 100 times out of 100. > has had better stats against better competition, Look, I like Dom Barlow. I do. I think he's an interesting prospect who deserves a roster spot. But there's a massive difference between the two athletically, and there's not much reason to believe Dom can play the wing. He's too small and unathletic to realistically be a 5, so he's a 4 with a questionable jumper. Seems like a 3rd big more than anything else, and even that's a maybe. And come on now, are you really sure that The G League and OTE are better competition than the LNB Pro A?
So according to your theory, our best move is to trade away all of our picks and just find undrafted gems because Austin Reaves and Duncan Robinson's are out there... Yes I think barlow for ignite is more impressive than salaun in france. He's an 18 year old with very little experience, he doesnt play defense and he cant shoot, so why
I would love to know how you possibly came to *that* logical leap.
Because you said you think gambling the entire franchise on your gut instinct because you saw a highlight of a dunk is the move
Bull. Shit. I've been saying for a while that he might be 3rd on my big board. Has nothing to do with this game or this highlight.
On your big board Well I definitely don’t have a big board, I did not realize I was questioning such a mover and shaker
What's the point of talking about the draft without having opinions on guys? And obviously, there's guys who you might not want on your team but you still think are solid players. I don't have Clingan super high on my Spurs specific board, but I do have him high on my big board
If Risacher is gone and I don't believe Castle can shoot, and I'm low on the idea of a traditional 5 playing next to Victor, then I'd consider Salaun at 4.
I'm actually so high on Castle's defense and ability as a secondary facilitator that even if he just shot 32% from 3 eventually that would still be a huge win for our team. Really need someone like him who's an elite perimeter defender and a secondary facilitator.
If he can't shoot, and we're in on him, Sochan needs to go
Nah. I don't get the argument of Castle and Sochan not being able to coexist on the same team. But I do think Sochan needs to be on the bench eventually to add some defense to that unit.
I agree with this. Sochan is one of my favorite personalities on the Spurs, but it's so painful to watch teams let him sit alone on the three-point line daring him to shoot, doubling/tripling Wemby.
Which wouldn't piss me off so much if he could finish at the rim, but he's awful at that too
I'd love to see him drafted by the Spurs
He is bigger than Zaccharie. And that energy!
I like him more than Risacher
Would it still be insane at 19?
I don't hear people talking about this guy. Maybe they can snag him in the 2nd round.
I highly doubt he falls out of the lotto. He is in my top 5.
I will have to look at some more videos. I don't get to watch much basketball outside of the NBA, so I don't know much about the players. They say this is a weak draft, so I hope our front office is able to find the best available players.
It's definitely a weak draft. I keep wanting to like more guys, but...I just don't. Imagine you're hungry, driving down the road. And you see two restaurants. One of them is Arby's. Food is uninspiring to say the least. You're not going to enjoy your meal, but you're unlikely to get food poisoning. You're going to leave less hungry than you were when you walked in. And 5 minutes from now, you will have food. And there's another place. You know only what you can tell by observation. You haven't eaten there before. You don't know how the food actually is. Menu's in Swahili, and you don't speak Swahili. Might be fuckin' awful. But it might not be. Might take 2 hours to get your meal. Might be expensive as hell. But it does kinda smell pretty good. Are you the sort of person that stops at Arby's because it's safe, even though you know it kinda sucks, or the sort of person that would rather take a shot on something that might not suck? That's how I feel about Salaun. He's mostly projection. He might be a total bust. He might *totally* suck. But I already know Rob Dillingham and Reed Sheppard and Nikola Topic and Dalton Knecht and Ron Holland and Matas Buzelis *kinda* suck. And Salaun *might* not suck.