Forward Bilal Coulibaly has been a regular starter in each of the last two seasons Wizardsbut the team it wasn’t quite like that does everything to win this interval, writes Josh Robbins of The Athletic.
Now that Washington is trying to be more competitive, Coulibaly’s place in the rotation is a bit unclear. He came off the bench in the team’s preseason game, shooting two points (1 of 7) and grabbing five rebounds in 19 minutes.
Coulibaly, the seventh pick in the 2023 draft, is eligible for a rookie extension until Oct. 19. While the 22-year-old is a talented defensive player, Robbins notes that his offensive game remains a work in progress, which could reduce his value in extension negotiations.
Robbins believes that if the two sides can reach an agreement in the next 10 days, Koulibaly is unlikely to exceed the annual average salary that the Wizards have been paying Danny Audio ($13.8 million per year) and Corey Kispert ($13.5 million) when they signed those players to rookie expansions in 2023 and 2024, respectively.
Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:
- Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra in comparison Janice Antecumba«s play-making to what with Magic Johnson following the team’s preseason game against Toronto. The superstar forward faced back-to-back double and triple teams in the win, but New Orleans didn’t rush the floor as often on Thursday, and the 31-year-old scored 18 points in 17 first-half minutes in the Heat’s second straight preseason win. Anthony Chung of The Miami Herald. “You might feel more of his power tonight“, Spoelstra said. “I think he felt it was a little different lighting. And overnight it could be like that. That’s what great players need when you’re up against them. It’s usually something else, or various little nuances of schematics and scouting reports. But he was definitely assertive, he quickly got to his places, on the slopes. So it’s more of what we’ve come to expect than playing wide-open shooters over and over again.”
- Security veteran Norman Powell quickly became a leader for Bykovtrans Joe Cawley of The Chicago Sun-Times. Rookie forward Caleb Wilson called Powell a “vocal leader” who “holds everyone accountable and pushes everyone to be their best.” “He talked to me a lot only about his journey” said Wilson.It’s impressive to me, I mean, playing in a couple of G League games before winning the championship, and just playing in the NBA and being an All-Star last year, he said a lot of good things to me. Lots of tricks and tips both mental and physical.”
- While he acknowledged that it might be unwise to read too much into a preseason game, Cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor pointed out (via Twitter) on Thursday evening Cavaliers security guard Melick Thomas — 34th overall pick in June’s draft — earned early rotation minutes ahead of other backup guards Tyrese Proctor and Craig Porter Jr For what it’s worth, Thomas had 11 points, two rebounds, two assists and three steals in 23 minutes; Proctor had five points, two rebounds, one assist and one steal in 21 minutes; and Porter had five points, three rebounds, 10 assists and two steals in 16 minutes in an 11-point loss to Boston.
