This Tuesday, while the whole of France had its face turned towards the choice of the shooter against Benfica, Théo Maledon was cut by the Rockets during the Citroën contest game announced by Christophe Jallet. Double trouble for the French leader who, in addition to having the rug pulled out from under his feet a week before the start of the season, did not win the car either.
A great philosopher said : “Life goes too fast, take what you enjoy, take what you enjoy!” “. This same philosopher, author of I love you phew, certified platinum in a week, which for once has absolutely nothing to do with the situation of Théo Maledon. This Tuesday, the most Rouen American of the Americans – just behind Thomas Pesquet – was cut by the Rockets, two weeks after being sent there in a trade good garage sale, good “we would have already forgotten if Maledon wasn’t in it”. He now finds himself without an NBA contract at one week from the start of the regular season, when the teams complete their rotations and see things more clearly thanks to training camps and pre-season meetings. Ah, long gone are the days when Etienne Catalan, an excellent French “numerologist”, told us that Théo Maledon would wear number 5 in Houston. This dear Rafael Stone, who absolutely did not have to put down his rookie season, decided otherwise. The following ? Keith Smithan analyst from Spotterkeep the faith : “Someone should go get Theo Maledon, there’s a player in there. The Spurs track makes sense, because they have very few point guards right now”. Join Gregg Popovich’s group 21 years after Tony Parker and gain minutes without the constraint of collective results which, in a competitive team, would send Theo to the bottom of the rotation? The idea is brilliant. And if we push the delirium a little further, Victor Wembanyama will join him next summer. But here, we push very very far.
Theo Maledon missed an open layup AND a dunk on the same play. ???? pic.twitter.com/0YHump6k5d
— House of Highlights (@HoHighlights) March 23, 2021
How severe is Theo Maledon’s ousting? Selected in 34th position of the Draft 2020, the Frenchman gave us a great rookie season with 10.1 points at 37% shooting including 34% at 3-points, 3.2 rebounds and 3.5 assists in 27 minutes of play. On March 3, 2021, he was selected for the Rising Stars Challenge and go past guys like Immanuel Quickley, Saddiq Bey, Cam Reddish and Kendrick Nunn. At this moment, and despite a target to settle to straighten the percentages excused by his rookie status, Theo is absolutely not worried about his future in the NBA. He is even predicted, with one or two seasons of development, a starting status in a good team. His ball bearing exudes great maturity, his teammates move well around him, and his reading of the game on pick-and-roll recalls the great years of Milos Teodosic (not at all). Without forcing the line, he frolics quickly and absorbs contact better than what his physique, very dry, let predict. But in the NBA, you are no longer young when others are younger than you: his season as a sophomore will be crushed by the arrival of Josh Giddey on the Thunder’s backcourt. Result, Theo goes from 27 minutes on average to 17, and most of his offensive statistics accompany this drop. The Process of the Thunder will have finally got the better of one of its elements, probably under-considered by its status as a second-round choice. In Houston? Boarf, the back lines are already very dense with Jalen Green, Kevin Porter Jr, Josh Christopher and many other “Venice Beach” profiles to develop. It would have been difficult to give him the place he deserves.
Theo Maledon goes for 20 PTS in his #NBAPreseason debut! ????
Relive the rookie’s big night for the @okcthunder!For #NBARoos pic.twitter.com/fhhKxjvK2j
— NBA Draft (@NBADraft) December 13, 2020