Bilal Coulibaly is going into the last year of his rookie-scale contract with the Washington Wizards, with restricted free agency looming next offseason. This year, we saw guys like Jalen Duren and Bennedict Mathurin get squeezed by restricted free agency, and they both had guaranteed roles on their teams this past season.
Unfortunately for Coulibaly, things might not be the same for him. You might think that the former 2023 No. 7 overall pick would be in line for a guaranteed role for the Wizards this offseason, but some of the offseason decisions and the way the preseason has shaken out could tell a different story.
Bilal Coulibaly could be falling out of favor in the Wizards' rotation
Everybody knows what Coulibaly can do on the defensive end; that's never been the question. But on the offensive side of the ball, it's been clear that strides need to be made, specifically as a shooter, and there hasn't seemed to be much progress on that end.
So far in the preseason, Coulibaly had two points on 1-for-7 shooting against the New York Knicks in the Wizards' first game, and in his second game, he scored just three points on zero made field goals. This is especially tough to stomach when the guys he's competing with for minutes have played exceptionally well.
In the first game against the Knicks, Justin Champagnie had 12 points on 3-for-5 shooting. He was also able to notch two steals and two blocks. In his second game against the Detroit Pistons, he had 12 points on 4-for-8 shooting and three steals.
Simply put, Champagnie, who may have been on the outside looking in for a rotational spot at the beginning of the offseason, has thoroughly outplayed Coulibaly throughout the start of preseason.
The signing of Khris Middleton also makes it much tougher
Another move the Wizards made that could make Coulibaly's rotational pathway tougher was the signing of Khris Middleton. Middleton is back with the Wizards after being traded there originally in the Kyle Kuzma deal, and then being traded away in the Anthony Davis trade.
Now Middleton certainly isn't the All-Star version of himself we saw during his prime days in Milwaukee, but he still provides this team with a skill they sorely need: Three-point shooting. That's something the Wizards, as a team, need more of and something, so far, that Coulibaly hasn't provided.
There was some talk about him just being a mentoring presence in the locker room and not really playing much, but there's no way you sign someone for three years and $17.6 million for them to ride the bench. There are plenty of veteran minimum candidates who can do that.
Coulibaly is by no means a bad basketball player, and in the right situation, he can be successful. If the jumper comes around, he should be able to insert himself firmly into the Wizards' rotation and future plans. But for now, with the Wizards trying to win, it's hard to justify him getting minutes over guys like Middleton and Champagnie.
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