The Washington Wizards front office made a flurry of moves ahead of the deadline with the team's young core in mind.
After a horrid start to the season, Washington opted to shift their focus on acquiring a different mixture of veterans they could surround the team's core players around that could offer them different insight and a sense of mentorship as they looked to find some sort of positives to take out of this lost season.
The team ultimately dealt away veterans Kyle Kuzma, Jonas Valanciunas in exchange for Khris Middleton and Marcus Smart headlining the multiple different moves made prior to the February 6th deadline.
Not only was general manager Will Dawkins able to land experienced veterans to serve as another source of mentorship for the team, but he was also able to acquire draft compensation and a young player in AJ Johnson along the way.
However, the draft compensation and the young player may not be the only thing that is playing a vital role in the team's rebuild as the leadership and experience the team's newly acquired additions have brought along with them.
And the biggest beneficiary to the trade deadline moves may very well be the team's former lottery pick.
Bilal Coulibaly taking advantage of deadline moves
Bilal Coulibaly entered this season looking to take the second-year leap that not only the Wizards front office hoped he could, but the leap that he hoped he could.
Up to this point in the season, the French product is averaging 12.4 points, 4.9 rebounds, 3.4 assissts and 1.3 steals, while shooting 41.9% from field goal range. Coulibaly has shown flashes all season long just how versatile he can be, and as he continues to develop as one of the more underrated two-way players in the league, the addition of Middleton and Smart could be the key to unlock his potential.
Coulibaly has gone on record to say just how much the veteran's have helped him since arriving, and even on the areas of his game they've worked on.
"We've been talkling about a lot of things," Coulibaly said in regards to Middleton. "How to get the ball in spots you want. He's been teaching me every day. Even defensively, he's talking to me because he's been with top defensive players like Giannis and all that, so he's been giving a little bit of tips. So yeah, I'm learning a lot. It's different man. You want to listen because you see what he's been through. He talks to you about the playoffs and all that, so you listen."
In addition to the help Middleton has given him, Coulibaly has cashed in on former Defensive Player of the Year, Marcus Smart's presence as well looking to improve his agility and on-ball defense.
"I was struggling a little bit on the off-ball screens, and he's been talking to me, giving me tips-how to get to the body, how to be physical without fouling."
If Coulibaly can take all the knowledge he's learning and apply it to his game, the young guard has all the tools to be a big time player for the Wizards moving forward.