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Breaking: Reports on Bilal Coulibaly: What NBA scouts are saying about the Wizards’ youngster saying he…..

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Washington — According to a league source who spoke to The Athletic, the Washington Wizards have decided not to exercise their rookie-scale club options on forward Patrick Baldwin Jr. and guard Johnny Davis for the upcoming campaign. This means that Davis and Baldwin will be unrestricted free agents in the summer of 2025.

Coulibaly guarded closely as Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics dribbled the ball on the right wing. In an attempt to get into the lane, Tatum rushed ahead, but Coulibaly outpaced him and blocked his way to the basket. Tatum slowed down, bumped Coulibaly, and took a stride back before jumping for a shot from just beyond the foul line. Additionally, Coulibaly raised himself, contesting the shot with a high-flung right hand. The ball clattered away.

Forty seconds later, Coulibaly was the attacking player. He dribbled the ball on the perimeter, with Boston’s Jaylen Brown defending, blocking a path to the hoop. Coulibaly sped forward, absorbed contact from Brown and then drove to the basket, leaving Brown in the dust. Coulibaly elevated and scored on a scoop layup off the glass.

Let’s recap, shall we? First, Coulibaly halted the drive of a first-team All-NBA player, forcing an errant midrange shot. Then, Coulibaly beat one of the league’s better wing defenders off the dribble for a bucket. Impressive.

That is the vision the Wizards’ front office and coaching staff have for the 20-year-old wing/forward. The brain trust views him as someone who will stymie opponents’ best perimeter scorers and eventually will create offense for himself or for teammates.

“That’s how we’ve always envisioned him, as a guy who can make plays,” Washington coach Brian Keefe said. “There’s a learning process to that.”

The 2024-25 season will be Coulibaly’s crash course in playmaking. He will handle the ball often and will have wide latitude to learn on the fly. He will make — and already has made — mistakes, but that’s more than OK. The goal is to grow, not to be perfect, and with Washington in full rebuild mode, Keefe has the luxury, and responsibility, to experiment.

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