Wizards GM Will Dawkins on why he traded up to draft Bilal Coulibaly
Wizards GM Will Dawkins on why he traded up to draft Bilal Coulibaly originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
New Wizards general manager Will Dawkins has a philosophy about the NBA Draft which he learned through years working in Oklahoma City under vaunted talented evaluator Sam Presti. The approach centers around player development and the idea every player who enters the draft is talented.
The difference between the ones who become very good in the NBA and those who do not is what happens after they are picked. In the case of Bilal Coulibaly, whom the Wizards traded up to the seventh pick to select on Thursday night, the development process may take years, as he is only 18 years old and only became a lottery prospect after a recent growth spurt to reach 6-foot-6.
Dawkins is taking the long view with a player he thinks has star potential.
"You get him into the gym here and you're like 'this is a ball of clay.' It could take some time, but from where he went in a short amount of time to where we think he can go, that's the exciting part," Dawkins said.
"We'll embrace that, we'll put resources around him and try to maximize himself. At the end of the day, he has the physical tools but he's also a very skilled player. Once that comes together, I think you'll have the player we're looking for and the reason why we drafted him so high."
Coulibaly rocketed up draft boards over the past calendar year and was perhaps this class' biggest riser in recent months. He played alongside top pick Victor Wembanyama for the Metropolitan 92s and capitalized on the attention the now-San Antonio Spur drew to the team.
Coulibaly grew up playing guard and now plays with the skills of a guard despite being the size of a wing. Late in the Metro 92s season, he stepped into a larger role due to injuries and took advantage of it, showing more and more as an offensive player to add to his already impressive defensive repertoire.
That improvement coupled with the physical traits has Dawkins thinking big about what he could someday be.
"It's the thing that pops out right away when you see the 7-2 [wingspan]. For a guard, he's 99 percentile for his position in height, he's 99 percentile for his position for length. If you take all the measurements and then see him run and jump, he's probably 99 percentile in that, too. But with that comes the effort. He's a guy that takes contact and dishes it out on offense and defensively he can guard on the ball, guard off the ball. We see him as a guy that can switch and be versatile. He embraces that," Dawkins explained.
Dawkins has been paying closer attention to Coulibaly since last summer when he played for the French under-18 national team. That included a battle with the U.S. team in which Dawkins took notice of his competitive fire.
Dawkins then met Coulibaly at a Metro 92s practice earlier in the season, back when Dawkins was still scouting for the Thunder. Recently, the Wizards hosted Coulibaly in D.C. for a dinner and pre-draft interview.
Next, Coulibaly will play in the Las Vegas Summer League where Dawkins expects the coaching staff to test his offensive ceiling with ball-handling and play-making duties to a greater degree than he was tasked with at his previous stop. They will get a sense of what he's capable of now and what he needs to improve on.
Coulibaly is so young and relatively unpolished as a scorer that Dawkins was asked during his post-draft press conference whether it is a gamble to take such a player at seventh overall. Dawkins detailed why he is confident it will pay off in the long run.
"We won't take short-sighted approaches in the draft. We'll take the guy we think will be the best long-term player, the best long-term fit. With him, it's going to take a little while and we know that," Dawkins said.
"We have the confidence in the coaching staff and the support from ownership to be able to take that approach and make sure that we're not settling and we can go take a risk and take further time doing something. With him, we don't feel it's a risk."
There is also the trading up aspect of acquiring Coulibaly. The Wizards moved up from the eighth pick to the seventh pick in a deal that has yet to be officially finalized in terms of what they gave up.
Dawkins indicated that approach can be expected from the team's new front office, led by Monumental Basketball president Michael Winger.
"You'll see with Michael and I, we're going to be aggressive. If we want our guy, we're going to go get our guy. Tonight, we were able to do that," Dawkins said.
