Sidy Cissoko breakdown
The Spurs drafted Sidy Cissoko at 44 after trading pick 33 and drafting Victor Wembanyama. Here’s what he excels at and how he fits the Spurs.
Sidy Cissoko is a 6'7 combo guard/wing who played for the Gleague Ignite this past season. There he averaged 11.6 PPG, 3.1 APG, and 2.8 RPG on 57% TS% in 29 minutes per game. While these stats aren’t particular impressive, he was playing behind Scoot Henderson and Leonard Miller and playing against other pros at 18. In the second half of the season, he took a bit of leap and improved his stats across the board.
Defense:
The best part of Sidy’s game is arguably his defense, at 6'7 220 with a 6'10 wingspan he has great size to be a versatile defender in the NBA. In the Gleague he averaged 1.1 SPG and 1 BPG in 29 minutes per game. He’s very versatile and can be used as the POA defender, weakside rim protector or just used offball as he’s very smart and able to intercept many passes with his combo of size and IQ. He constantly makes great rotations and is effectively able to guard 2–4 with the ability to guard some slower point guards and smaller centers. His biggest issue right now on defense would have to be his fouls, he averaged 3.4 fouls in the Gleague and that would likely increase in the NBA. This could be costly in crunch time and needs to work on bringing the fouls down.
Offense:
While his offensive game isn’t fully developed and needs polishing, he’s still productive on the offensive end, he’s a great passer and has good vision which allows him to be a quality playmaker. For the Ignite he averaged 3.1 APG with only 1.9 TPG while having a very low USG% of 18.33%. He makes a lot of highlight flashes but he’s not just that. He creates for others in transition and in the halfcourt. He already has the skillset to be a secondary playmaker and the upside to be a primary. He doesn’t have an elite first step or handle, but he can get open and make the right play. He can find open teammates or help his teammates get open; he can make almost any pass. He’s very crafty and has solid athleticism. One of his most effective moves is his spin move off the dribble into a layup. At the rim he can finish through traffic or uses his length to make difficult finishes. He’s not completely terrible as a shooter too. He shot 31.4% from 3 in the Gleague but it was on above average volume and shot near 38% on catch and shoot 3s. In the second half of the season his shooting% improved to 34% and his form was noticeably smoother and better. However, he does have some flaws here, he lacks a midrange shot and doesn’t have an in-between game. Developing a floater or adding a midrange shot will be crucial for him to become a true lead guard. He has shown flashes of being a good scoring guard but as of right now he’s not on that level yet and will likely need to spend a year or two before becoming the Spurs PG.
How he fits:
Sidy will likely be used as a versatile bench for the Spurs this season, his defense and playmaking alone should be enough to get him some minutes and not to mention the French connection with Victor. He’ll be used a secondary playmaker or a connector with some ball handling duties on the offensive end and will be used as a versatile defender on the defensive end changing depending on the matchup. He gives much needed secondary playmaking and could develop into the lead guard which would let Tre Jones move into the bench role. He also gives more size for the Spurs lineup and provides much needed perimeter defense. His floor is pretty high and with the spurs new shooting coach, could become something special.
