It raised some eyebrows around the NBA when the Wizards traded up to No. 7 in June’s draft to nab French forward Bilal Coulibaly, who played second fiddle to Victor Wembanyama for the Metropolitans 92 last season. But Coulibaly, the NBA’s third-youngest player, has impressed the team with his poise and maturity so far this fall, writes Josh Robbins of The Athletic.
“I think that’s unique for a teenager,” head coach Wes Unseld Jr. said of Coulibaly’s mindset. “It doesn’t seem like he gets rattled. He’s not overly demonstrative in any way, but I think he’s got the right approach.”
Third-year wing Corey Kispert said that Coulibaly has had to learn a lot in his first NBA training camp and preseason, joking that the rookie has been forced to “drink out of a fire hose” in taking in all the information the Wizards are throwing at him. However, Kispert added that he has been “nothing but impressed” with Coulibaly so far.
According to Ava Wallace of The Washington Post, Unseld said this week that the plan for Coulibaly this season is to give him a “steady diet” of meaningful minutes in games. That might happen in the NBA with the Wizards or in the G League with the Capital City Go-Go. The franchise doesn’t want to rush the developmental process with the 19-year-old, and he’s on board with that plan.
“I know I’m young,” Coulibaly said. “I’ll take the time that it will take.”
Here’s more out of D.C.:
- The Wizards announced on Thursday that forward Anthony Gill has suffered a strained left hamstring and will be sidelined for the next two or three weeks, tweets Wallace. That means Gill likely won’t be available when the club’s regular season begins on October 25.
- Deni Avdija, who has missed the Wizards’ first two preseason games due to back tightness, was a full participant in practice on Wednesday and could’ve played on Thursday if needed, tweets Robbins. It’s sounds like Avdija will be good to go for the start of the regular season, barring a setback.
- Wallace shares some takeaways from the Wizards’ first two preseason games, singling out two-way player Eugene Omoruyi as an under-the-radar standout and observing that the club’s starting lineup is beginning to take shape. Tyus Jones, Jordan Poole, Coulibaly, Kyle Kuzma, and Daniel Gafford have started both preseason contests for Washington, though Wallace suspects Avdija may supplant Coulibaly in that five-man group once he returns.
- With Bradley Beal no longer in Washington, which player or players might emerge as the locker room leader(s) in 2023/24? Candace Buckner of The Washington Post explores that topic, writing that those leadership roles will come down to stature and won’t simply fall to the highest-paid players by default.
If I was the Spurs I would of offered Keldon Johnson ( I like him a lot) for Bilal at the draft
The result of that trade would be a team that wins 6 games. Spurs need Keldon Johnson to score, and with another 19-year-old kid in his place, it would be a long season in San Antonio, if it isn’t going to be already.
Yes there’s promise and things are looking up but they probably won’t make the playoffs this year.
The only reason to make that trade would be to try and keep Wemby with his EuroLeague teammate. Coulibaly has talent out the wazoo, but he’s raw. The Spurs are now much further along in their rebuild with experience for Keldon, Sochan, Vassell, Tre Jones, and of course the addition of Wemby. The point for adding a raw prospect in exchange for a young guy who already has high upside has passed. I don’t expect them to be competitive, but they’re ready to try building their core and adding pieces rather than subtracting in exchange for potential.
I appreciate you both responding and see both your points and I do agree. I just said it to keep Wemby happy and to rebuild. Keldon is a little older than everyone and deserves a chance like D Murray, D White and others to prosper, Washington would be a good fit. I agree with you both though. Thank you for responding to me Garry and EONads, I appreciate you both
Yes it’s great we can all offer our opinions here and I appreciate it. And when we write an initial post, we expose ourselves to both criticism and acclaim so it’s pretty risky lol.
I think Keldon Johnson would win in either case. He could win more games if he was traded, but in San Antonio he can be “the man” which is pretty fun also.
Jordan Poole-Tyus Jones backcourt is going to be dynamic. Poole will avg 25-30 PPG and Jones will finish top 5 to 10 in APG.
Jordan Poole’s shooting percentage the first two months of the season will be 38% from the field. Take a screenshot of this and bet the farm.
In month three when the coaches get a hold of him he’ll improve shot selection and settle down a little. He might even average 26 + a game when his efficiency increases?
I’ve always liked Tyus Jones and thought of him as a fantastic backup point guard. I’ve always considered him very underrated. Now as a starter running his own team in Washington let’s see how he handles this. I’m sure he’ll be great.
I really think Memphis should of kept him instead of trading picks for Smart along with signing Rose( Should of traded Jake with picks for a SF)