The regular season is less than 10 percent done, but the Charlotte Hornets may have already determined that Tidjane Salaun is still not an NBA-level contributor. They have recently assigned him to the G League after playing him in their first seven games.
The move means that Salaun will not be with the Hornets for their upcoming road trip, consisting of matchups against the New Orleans Pelicans and Miami Heat.
Another possible reason behind the Salaun decision is that Charlotte needs to call KJ Simpson up to the main roster in case LaMelo Ball, who has been listed as questionable for the Pelicans bout, has to miss at least one more contest. However, it is more likely that the organization wants to see some improvement from the French forward before giving him more playing time, and a Greensboro Swarm stint should provide him with significantly more minutes.
Tidjane Salaun, still a project player
It's not as if Charles Lee didn't try plugging Salaun into the rotation to start the regular season despite the second-year pro's underwhelming preseason. Perhaps the Hornets coach did not have much choice, as backup power forward Grant Williams is not yet healthy enough to play.
Salaun, though, could not justify the playing time he was gifted with. His shooting does not appear to have improved even the slightest bit, as he has shot just 36.8 percent from the field this year. His rebounding rate has gotten slightly better, but his defense remains defined by his energy rather than sound fundamentals or instincts.
As the campaign wore on, Salaun's minutes declined, probably because it had become apparent that the Hornets' offense plummets when he is substituted in.
Things came to a head on Sunday when he made a three-minute cameo in their 126-103 win over the Utah Jazz. You would think that he would play more as the game went to garbage time. However, he remained on the bench from the 10:33 mark in the second quarter until the final buzzer. Even Mason Plumlee spent more time on the floor.
It looks like Lee would rather allot what should be Salaun's minutes to Pat Connaughton or Liam McNeeley, both of whom, to be fair, seem a better fit with Charlotte's offensive schemes and have proven to be more disciplined on both ends of the court.
It remains to be seen if Salaun can show some progress while away from the Hornets. He has no choice if he wants to crack the rotation again, as he has given the Hive little reason not to continue regarding him as a project player.