The Washington Wizards have been awfully busy making trades in the lead-up to the 2023 NBA Draft, as the team sent Bradley Beal to the Phoenix Suns and then moved the biggest name they got back in that deal, Chris Paul, to the Golden State Warriors for Jordan Poole. The team has also been in pick accumulation mode across these moves, and perhaps unsurprisingly, the first trade at the start of the Draft involved them cashing in some picks to move up.
According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, the Indiana Pacers surprisingly selected French wing Bilal Coulibaly seventh overall. But the twist, according to Charania and Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports, is that Coulibaly won’t stay with the Pacers, as the Wizards made a trade to move up one spot and take him.
Sources: Indiana is selecting Bilal Coulibaly at No. 7 and trading him to Washington. https://t.co/Z8rZKX2Rl3
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 23, 2023
It's Bilal Coulibaly, per sources, headed to the Wizards. https://t.co/XEJXzZlDFG
— Jake Fischer (@JakeLFischer) June 23, 2023
The move was confirmed by Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
The Pacers are trading Balil Coulibaly to the Wizards, sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 23, 2023
While the exact picks remain to be seen, Charania noted that Indiana would receive a pair of second-round picks for facilitating the deal, and after the dust settled, they made up their mind on Jarace Walker, the tenacious forward out of Houston.
Sources: Indiana is selecting Jarace Walker at No. 8 via Wizards in this 7-for-8 flip. Washington also sends two second-round picks to Pacers to move up for Coulibaly. https://t.co/Z8rZKX2Rl3
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 23, 2023
The Pacers are targeting Jarace Walker with the No. 8 pick, sources tell ESPN. https://t.co/hLH4qNF3lY
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 23, 2023
Coulibaly’s been an ultra-fast riser in recent weeks, and is the sort of long-term project of a player with a high ceiling who should signal a rebuild in the nation’s capital.
