Wizards NBA Draft: Bilal Coulibaly Coming to Washington Via Trade With Pacers

In the first round of the 2023 NBA Draft the Washington Wizards traded the eighth pick, forward Jarace Walker to the Indiana Pacers in exchange for France forward Bilal Coulibaly.

Leading up to the 2023 NBA Draft the experts all predicted the Washington Wizards would go guard with the eighth overall pick in the first round. 

As they set out to land a future star to help get the post-Bradley Beal era started, it looked like either Cason Wallace of Kentucky or Anthony Black from Arkansas would be headed to the Wizards.

When it came down to it, however, not only did Washington not take a guard, they didn't even keep the guy they picked.

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Instead, the team executed a trade with the Indiana Pacers to get forward Bilal Coulibaly from France after he was selected No. 7 overall.

Perhaps the Wizards would have gone with Black if he was available, but the guard was off the board with the sixth pick heading to the Orlando Magic. 

Washington either pivoted to trade for the second forward off the board or went after the guy they wanted all along.

We're sure the team message will be about how they targeted the 6'8 defensive standout.

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"Coulibaly is a difference-maker around the rim, moving well without the ball, pouncing on offensive rebounds and attacking the rim whenever possible," says NBA.com about Coulibaly. "He pairs this explosiveness with good shooting in a small sample size, connecting on 43.8 percent of 38 three-point attempts this season. Most of those attempts were spot-up looks, and Coulibaly's self-creation and scoring polish is still a work in progress in the half-court. Defense is where he's been making the most impact. Pairing his athleticism with his size, Coulibaly could be a massive disruptor in switching schemes."

More details on the trade are coming, but for now, we know Coulibaly is headed to the Wizards, and forward Jarace Walker (Houston) will be headed to Indiana following this draft night exchange.

UPDATE: ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski is reporting Washington is sending two 2028 second-round NBA Draft picks to the Pacers in this trade.

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Find David Harrison on Twitter @DHarrison82

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