Tidjane Salaün’s latest stretch with the Charlotte Hornets has at least started to hint at why the team took him sixth overall in the 2024 NBA Draft.
In Saturday night’s loss to the Philadelphia 76ers, the 6’11” French forward logged 12 minutes and put together one of the more encouraging showings of his NBA career. He shook a Sixer with a quick hesitation before getting to the baseline for a dunk, showed some sticky one-on-one defense against Jaylen Brown, and knocked down a catch-and-shoot three. That’s not a breakout, but for Salaün, it was enough to trace the outline of the player Charlotte hoped it was drafting.
Even with those early-season flashes, the Hornets have made a telling contract call. According to reports, Charlotte has decided to decline Salaün’s fourth-year option, which means he’ll be on track to become a free agent next summer.
The team has not formally announced the move, but the signal became pretty clear when the Hornets exercised the third-year options on Kon Knueppel and Liam McNeeley without any mention of Salaün.
The decision does not automatically mean Charlotte is done with him after this season, though. The fourth-year option would have cost $10.4M, and the Hornets appear to view that number as steep for a player whose career averages sit at 5.9 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 1.0 assists on 39/33/69 shooting splits.
Salaün has long been viewed as a developmental bet, and that remains the case. His size, mobility, and energy give him a useful base, but he still doesn’t have the one elite skill that separates a project from a true long-term piece. He’s a solid shooter, a defender who is getting better, an uneven decision-maker, and a rough ball-handler.
That said, Charlotte could still bring him back on a more manageable deal next season and keep him in its development system. A contract in the three-year, $15M range, with team-friendly options or non-guaranteed money, would give Salaün some security while preserving the Hornets’ flexibility. The flashes have shown enough consistency to make that a reasonable path.
If Charlotte decides Salaün isn’t part of its long-term plans, declining the option also sets him up as a possible trade piece before February’s deadline. An expiring contract is easier to move than one with future money attached, and that matters for a Hornets roster that could be looking to shuffle pieces.
Grayson Allen, Royce O'Neale, and Dennis Schroder are all owed money in 2027-28, assuming Allen exercises his $19M player option, and those three appear to be Charlotte’s most likely trade deadline casualties. Salaün’s expiring salary could help the Hornets match money in a deal, making those players easier to move.
At $8.3M in 2026-27, Salaün could also appeal as a low-cost swing on a 21-year-old with upside. The Clippers, who are down on draft capital moving forward, may be interested in that.
For now, the big picture is simple: Salaün’s future is less certain than ever, but his next few months carry real weight. Every minute from here to April will be judged through the lens of a young player trying to secure his professional future, whether that ends up being in Charlotte or somewhere else.
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Hornets Fans Still Cant Escape This Brutal Draft Night Debate
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An NBA analyst recently put a fresh twist on the debate by suggesting the 2018 decision involving Shai Gilgeous-Alexander may end up haunting Charlotte more than the Bryant trade ever did. Gilgeous-Alexander has since become one of the leagues defining stars, while Bryants legacy remains one of the biggest in basketball history, which is exactly why this argument still lands with Hornets fans: there is no easy way to separate the pain of what was lost from the reality of what those players became. [Read more 🡒]