Ali Traore

Traore had another decent showing on the offensive end today, looking pretty reliable using his body to score easy points around the basket. At times he looked like a bit of a black hole, though, refusing to pass out of double teams in the post and getting called for traveling on a few occasions.

After guaranteeing to pull down 10 rebounds when we last spoke yesterday (he asked us why we don’t consider him a potential first round pick like other scouting services), Traore only managed to get 2 today—further confirming his biggest weakness as an NBA prospect. Having the chance to evaluate his rebounding skills very closely throughout his time on the court, we can say with some confidence that he does a very poor job boxing out his opponents and doesn’t seem to put much effort into going after rebounds that are out of his area—even having a few balls snatched right out of his hands by smaller opponents. For a guy who isn’t the tallest, explosive or most skilled prospect in the world, this has to be considered a serious cause for concern.

This was a performance a lot more in line with what we saw out of Ali Traore at the NBA pre-draft camp just a week ago, using his body to carve out space inside and showing a nice arsenal of post moves with which to finish with once he created his own shot. He showed a nice little spin move and crafty finish, a pull-up jumper from 14 feet, a strong, fundamental drop-step, and a very pretty turnaround jumper to complete the picture. All in all, this was a very nice showing from the extremely strong Frenchman, owner of a 7-4 wingspan. We would have loved to see him put that length to better use in the rebounding department, though, where again he looked very flat-footed not reacting to the ball coming off the glass in his area, something we saw at the pre-draft camp as well. After being pressed a bit on the importance of a big man like him hitting the glass as hard as he can, Traore promised to deliver 10 boards tomorrow. We’ll see if he can live up to that.

Fresh off his good showing in Orlando, and everyday exhibiting better conditioning, Traore has been pretty effective in the paint. He's a very strong guy able to overpower virtually every other player at the camp. Just attacking the basket from the lane using a reverse in motion to gain room and beat his opponent, it worked well for him to get consistent production, actually making it a sort of go-to move. Showing good footwork and nice quickness in his moves, he has struggled a little bit with his jump-hooks, particularly with the left hand. Besides, he has also showed a decent mid-range spot-up jumper to compliment his inside production.

Still, despite his superb wingspan, Traore is not tall or athletic enough to escape the "undersized" label considering his style of playing, pretty much center oriented. His shooting range is limited, his ball-handling not good enough to play off the dribble and his defensive mobility questionable against perimeter oriented power forwards.

Ali Traore quietly put up one of the more dominant performances here at the camp, averaging 14.7 points per game on .704 shooting, going to quick work in the post when he got the ball, showing a nice array of simplistic, effective moves combined with great strength and pretty decent size at 6’10, with a 7’5 wingspan, something he didn’t really stand out with here. His performance reminded a lot of Kenny Adeleke’s last season in regards to his post scoring, primarily because Traore didn’t show much in the athleticism department, but it’s been learned that Traore suffered from a foot injury and has only been working out again for the past few weeks, so he may not be fully up to speed just yet. Taking a look at his profile picture as compared to what we saw here, it’s very clear that Traore has put on a lot of weight, and was not playing at his ideal build here. Traore didn’t look overweight by any means, but if he could play at a slimmer size like he was in that picture, he could improve on his speed and maneuverability in the post, making him a more versatile scorer.

There are some other concerns about Traore as well, most notably that he averaged just 3.3 rebounds per game in his three games here. For a player of his size and strength, that’s extremely concerning, and something he will definitely need to work on to be an NBA player. Maybe it was just an aberration, but Traore has the potential to do a lot more in that aspect of the game. Traore did knock down a few spot-up shots from the 10-15 foot range, showing he can contribute more than just interior scoring, but he still could use some improvement in the other areas of his game, including defense and passing. Traore made just one assist as opposed to eight turnovers here.

There’s a pretty good chance a team takes Traore in the late second round, as he has some nice potential with a good groundwork of NBA skills, and because he can be stashed overseas while not taking up a roster spot, letting him develop there and get back into game shape without costing anything. It’s really tough to say just how different a player Traore is when he’s in better shape, as we don’t have much to go off, but I’d be pretty certain that NBA teams with late second round picks will be looking into his play pre-injury, as Traore could turn out to be a real steal somewhere down the road.

Ali Traore is finally back to action after an injury that had him sidelined since January. He celebrated his comeback with 10 points, 7 rebounds and the victory for Le Havre over Reims.

Let’s state from the beginning that Traore pretty much looks like the same player he was in Treviso. He’s a very inside oriented big man, usually looking for production in the low post, even with more emphasis than ever. He’s a strong guy who easily establishes a good position to receive the ball, and even if his post moves are not the most polished and fancy, he gets the job done with simple spins and nice aggressiveness using his body. The good news is that he can finish with both hands there, relying on semi-hooks that work well even against bigger defenders; the bad news, that he doesn’t seem to enjoy any remarkable soft touch, particularly with his right hand. As observed in Treviso, despite being a right-handed player, he prefers to go left and finish near the rim with his left hand. Able to put the ball on the floor, he can attack his rivals from the mid-range area going for short slashing efforts, although he barely showed any of this in this All Star Game. Concerning his jumper, he looked very inconsistent shooting from mid-range. He did better playing without the ball, setting picks and rolling towards the basket, where he found good scoring options.

At the end of the day, Traore earns a living near the rim on the offensive end. Given his strength and nice athleticism, that’s fine for European basketball, but if we consider NBA potential, the fact that he’s only 6-9, not an outstanding athlete and barely shows any perimeter game, may severely hurt him. He will probably draw interest in the second round, but it’s highly unlikely anybody will invest a first-round pick in him unless he shows something else.

Much more interesting is Ali Traore, who closely follows him with a 7-5 wingspan, and leads the camp in wingspan/size ratio, as he’s only 6-10 in shoes. Traore enjoys a remarkable physical build, as he’s very strong both in the lower and upper body. He’s also quite athletic, having achieved 25 inches in the no-step vertical leap. He has some skills, being able to use both of his hands, although not in the same situations. When it comes to attacking his rivals and deliver a layup or a semi-hook (rather hard to stop in the release precisely because of his massive arm length), he prefers to go left and use his left hand. However, he’s a right-handed guy when it’s the time to shoot the ball. It’s really a strange combination, which anyway makes him predictable. Traore should really try to spread his post moves and work on his footwork, but he has some serious tools to play the game.