Last offseason, the Washington Wizards started a rebuild that could take many years to come to fruition. They moved on from long-time franchise centerpiece Bradley Beal, and the result was their worst record in franchise history.
Now, they are entering this summer with the second-overall pick in the draft and a chance to add some great new young talent to the mix to pair with Deni Avdija and Bilal Coulibaly.
And while Avdija could end up being a great player, Coulibaly is undoubtedly at the center of everything the Wizards are trying to build right now.
5 Players who have played with Bilal Coulibaly who the Washington Wizards should sign this offseason
With that in mind, here are five players the Wizards could consider signing with connections to Coulibaly—all five have been his teammates.
1. Tremont Waters
Former NBA point guard and LSU product Tremont Waters played with Bilal Coulibaly in France alongside Victor Wembanyama. They played for Metropolitans 92, which is now known as Boulogne-Levallois.
Waters is extremely undersized, but during his time playing for the Puerto Rican National Team, he showed some of the playmaking and shot-making flashes that earned him a shot in the league. He’s still only 26 years old and could be worthy of a second look.
2. Aaron Henry
Like Waters, Aaron Henry also played with Coulibaly in France with Boulogne-Levallois. He’s a Michigan State grad who had a brief stint in the NBA with the Philadelphia 76ers.
Henry’s three-point shot has never found any consistency, but when he’s on, he can shoot pretty well. He’s only 24 years old, 6-foot-5, and can defend well.
3. Idrissa Ba
Once again, Idrissa Ba played with Bilal Coulibaly in France on that same ex-Metropolitans 92 team. At 22 years old, Ba is seven-feet tall and from Senegal. He will be a part of the 2024 NBA Draft.
Ba is currently projected to go undrafted, so the Wizards could potentially look to snag him in undrafted free agency. He didn’t play a ton this past year in France, but at his height and with his history with Coulibaly, he could at least be worth a look in Summer League.
4. DJ Stewart
Moving away from the French connections, DJ Stewart played on the Wizards’ Summer League team last year with Coulibaly. He spent this past season playing for KK Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana in Slovenia.
The 24-year-old, 6-foot-6 wing shot the ball fairly well from distance while there, knocking down 39.1% of his 3.0 attempts per game. His shooting with size on the wing could be a useful tool.
5. Osun Osunniyi
Another guy who played for the Wizards during Summer League last season, Osun Osunniyi is a 6-foot-10 big man who is 25 years old. He spent this past year with Limburg United in Belgium.
He put up some solid stats, appearing in 22 games while averaging 9.8 points, 5.7 rebounds, 1.0 assists, 1.0 steals, and 1.8 blocks per game.
None of these players are going to step in as Day 1 impact players, but they have connections to the guy the Wizards want to build around, so taking some chances on them could be worthwhile.