2024 NBA Mock Draft: Two Prominent Analysts Predict Tidjane Salaun to OKC Thunder

Could the French guard be on his way to Oklahoma City.

Tidjane Salaun | FIBA.com / FIBA.com

A young French, high-upside prospect making his way to Oklahoma City via a late-lottery Thunder selection. Sound familiar? Sure, Ousmane Dieng fits the bill as the team's 2022 NBA Draft selection, but it could be true of a 2024 NBA Draft prospect.

Both ESPN's Jonathan Givony (along with Jermy Woo) and Bleacher Report's Jonathan Wasserman updated their 2024 NBA mock drafts on Wednesday. Both draft analysts projected the Thunder to select French forward Tidjane Salaun.

Givony reported an ankle injury that restricted Salaun from working out with a couple of franchises, though he did make his way to Oklahoma City before the injury.

"Salaun is one of the tougher lottery prospects to peg in terms of a draft range, as he has had limited time to conduct workouts after recently arriving from Europe," Givony wrote. "Quite a few teams would like to get to know him better. Salaun, ranked No. 9 in ESPN's Top 100, conducted workouts with Portland, Sacramento and Oklahoma City before spraining his ankle this past weekend in San Antonio, which might prevent him from working out in scheduled visits with Detroit and Charlotte."

Salaun played 33 games for Cholet in LNB Pro A -- which saw him average nine points per game in 22.7 minutes played per game. His efficiency left plenty to be desired, but the 6-foot-10 forward has sky-high potential. Time and experience will help the 18-year-old develop, and the Thunder could get him in a solid place to get better as a potential future contributor.

"Though the Thunder are officially in win-now mode for a title run, Salaun started playoff games in LNB Pro A. He could be ready for a smaller role, but the same one he had with Cholet, playing to his strength as a rim-runner, finisher and spot-up shooter," Wasserman wrote in his mock draft.

Wasserman gave Salaun an Obi Toppin comparison, though he's got the potential to develop into a more versatile player. Should the Thunder draft Salaun, fans are going to have to be patient to see how the selection pans out, and having a potential starting forward alongside Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren could be comforting.

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READ MORE: Analyzing DaRon Holmes II, Kel'el Ware and Kyle Filipowski's Fit with the OKC Thunder

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