The Washington Wizards have had one of the most rapid franchise 180-degree turns in recent NBA history, but their process may soon leave behind one of the picks that started it all. Bilal Coulibaly is a lengthy, high-motor 3-and-D wing that could immediately benefit the Atlanta Hawks should they pursue him.
Coulibaly would be an immediate plus for Atlanta. He may not have the elite shooting of Trey Murphy, who has been linked extensively to the Hawks this summer. Still, his price tag is significantly cheaper, while maintaining a similar frame and comparable defensive abilities.
With the Wizards drafting other young studs like Alex Sarr, AJ Dybantsa, Tre Johnson, Kyshawn George, and Will Riley, they're left with a rare problem. There are too many cooks in the kitchen, and each one of those cooks will earn an ample chunk of money sooner rather than later.
With an impending cap-space catastrophe on their hands, Atlanta could make short work of the Wizards' troubles and acquire Bilal Coulibaly, who is the apparent odd man out in Washington.
Bilal Coulibaly's "untapped potential" has tricked the Wizards
Bilal Coulibaly was once discussed as a mini-Giannis in his early days in the NBA. Sure, many players have carried a similar tag, but Coulibaly's length and fluidity in transition were closer to the Greek Freak than many of his counterparts ever were.
Unfortunately, Coulibaly has run into a wall. As a primary scoring threat, he didn't exactly pan out. With the Wizards trying just about anything over the last two seasons en route to two consecutive bottom-lottery finishes, Bilal received extensive run as a point forward, where he found about as much success as the San Antonio Spurs did with the point-Sochan experiment.
These on-ball looks aren't what Coulibaly was meant to achieve in the league. Sure, it would've been an absolute dream for Coulibaly to become the next Giannis, but that ceiling is incredibly difficult to reach.
Rather than striving to develop Bilal into something he's clearly not, Coulibaly's coaches should embrace the archetype scouts projected him to fill as a rookie in the NBA - a lethal 3-and-D wing.
Bilal Coulibaly's fit with the Hawks would be seamless
The icing on the cake for Atlanta to go after Coulibaly is painfully obvious - a player with Coulibaly's length, athleticism, and off-ball playstyle is a perfect fit in any system. That is, any system that can recognize his true role and afford to pay the man.
Just as the Hawks acquired Jonathan Kuminga from the Warriors for a low price last season (with the theory of extending JK), so too could Atlanta trade for Coulibaly in his contract-expiring season with the intent to sign him long-term, should he perform well.
The Wizards would likely desire a trade centered around an expiring deal and future draft capital - I wouldn't mind sending away a package similar to what others are currently asking for Kuminga: a future first round pick swap.
Should Atlanta move on from Kuminga, Coulibaly would be the perfect alternative: defensive-oriented, less on-ball dominant, and potentially less expensive than JK. The idea of pairing Bilal with Dyson Daniels, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Jalen Johnson, and Zuby Ejiofor at the 5 is tantalizing in a league that seems to only value lengthy, switchable defenders more and more by the year.
Add us as a preferred source on Google