NBA Comparison: Sam Perkins

Strengths: Stretch combo forward with very good size … Solid length (wingspan measured at 7-1 feet) …Very good athlete and a good leaper, either off one or two feet … Runs the floor extremely well, covers a lot of ground thanks to his long strides … Light on his feet, has a nice second jump … Has very good mobility for his size … Plays with a strong motor … Nice upper body, shoulders are wide enough to suggest he can add muscle without losing any mobility/flexibility … Versatile, can potentially be used at either forward position in the future … Doesn’t really need the ball in his hands to be effective … Smart cutter, moves well away off the ball and either cuts from the baseline or makes 45 cuts … Has a nice, quick shooting release … A solid shooter in Spot Up actions from the 3-point line when his feet are set… Has shown potential in pick and pop actions as the screener … Fairly good coming off of screens… A joy to watch in transition, runs the floor like a deer and finishes plays at the rim … Can put the ball on the floor to a degree … Has even been used as a ball handler in Pick and Roll actions … Good offensive rebounder, crashes the boards and creates second chances for his team … Has major upside as a defender … Mobility, athleticism and size suggest that he has the potential to become an elite defender … Versatile on defense, in the furure could guard 1-4 … Has very good lateral quickness… Lateral quickness and length help him when he defends in the perimeter … Jumps to passing lanes and makes a lot of steals or deflections … Size, length and athleticism are making him a solid rim protector, he could become a good backline / weakside defender in the future … Turns 19 in August, one of the youngest prospects in the draft …

Weaknesses: He is still pretty raw … Lacks experience, has played basketball just for a few years … Far from ready, he will probably need time to develop… Feel for the game needs work … Needs to improve his body and add a lot of weight … Must improve his upper body strength … Inconsistent, has a lot of ups and downs even within games … Has a lot of aspects to work on … His shooting mechanics are smooth, but his percentages from the 3-point line are average … More of a streaky shooter for now, not a consistent threat from the perimeter … Ball handling is loose and needs a lot of work, especially if he wants to slide down to small forward … Doesn’t have an in-between game … Can’t really make advanced moves with the ball in his hands… Mostly depends on his teammates to score on offense … Surprisingly average finisher at the rim when he attacks closeouts … Has problems finishing through contact … Doesn’t really have a Post Up game, he should add some moves to be able to punish miss-matches … Average defensive rebounder … Needs work on the way he reads the game, he is an average passer… Inconsistent defender … Takes gambles on defense going for the steal, which creates pressure on his team… Can lose focus by watching the ball when he defends in the weak-side and leave his player open … Has problems when he chases players around screens… Bigger players can bully him in Post Up actions …

Overall: Tidjane Salaun is a combo forward, who has intrigued the scouts because of his combination of size, athleticism and versatility … The French forward has a ways to go, but the potential upside of him as a 3-and-D forward with a little playmaking and ability to guard 1-4 makes him a really interesting prospect… If he manages to stabilize as a shooter and prove that he can put the ball on the floor consistently, then his ceiling will be as high as anyone’s in this year’s Draft …

Notes: BWB Global Measurements: Height: 6’9, Wingspan: 7’0.75, Max Vert 33.25″ …

Stefanos Makris 5/19/24