Wizards make key Bilal Coulibaly contract decision
10/29/2024 06:56 PM
Second-year Washington Wizards wing Bilal Coulibaly isn’t leaving anytime soon. The French international has had a strong start to the season, and he’s been rewarded with more long-term security.
The Wizards exercised the third-year rookie scale team option on Coulibaly, via the team’s press release. The 20-year-old will now be in Washington through 2027 when he’ll hit restricted free agency.
Coulibaly is averaging 16 points per game on 50% shooting with 4.7 rebounds and 3.3 assists through the Wizards’ first three games. The 6-foot-8, 195-pounder had a career night against the Cleveland Cavaliers on October 26th, scoring 23 points on 9-16 shooting, including 4-9 from deep, with six boards and one assist.
Coulibaly is one of Washington’s main building blocks for the future, and he’s still just getting started.
Bilal Coulibaly can be upper-echelon wing for Wizards
Coulibaly has impressed defensively this season in addition to his offensive work. The 2023 first-round pick shut down Atlanta Hawks superstar Trae Young on Monday, limiting him to two points on 0-for-7 shooting from the field with five turnovers.
Coulibaly can develop into a versatile “3-and-D” player if all goes well, via The Athletic’s Josh Robbins.
"I think at the top end of his development, he'll be sort of that 3-and-D guy that you can put on the bigger wings around the league and can guard multiple positions," a scout told Robbins before the season. "His shooting development and his ability to finish through traffic is going to be what determines where his ceiling is in terms of an offensive skill set.”
Monday’s game proved that Coulibaly can handle guards defensively, but the jury is still out on whether he can bother forwards over an extended period. Offensively, there’ll be no worries about him if he keeps making half of his field goals.
“But I thought he showed enough flashes (as a rookie). Obviously, where the team was (last season) and what the goal of the team was, it's hard for any young player to really be consistent and play well all the time,” the scout continued. “But the idea of a big wing who can guard multiple positions and create his own shot is still the hope for him."
Coulibaly still has much to prove, but Washington can’t complain about his body of work thus far.
In other news, the Wizards will not exercise their rookie-scale team options on Johnny Davis and Patrick Baldwin Jr., which schedules them to hit unrestricted free agency in the summer, via Robbins.
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