Bilal Coulibaly didn’t get the extension done before the Wizards’ first window closed, and that leaves Washington with a familiar sort of uncertainty: plenty of patience on the table, but no agreement to show for it.
The Oct. 19 deadline passed without an update on a new deal for the 22-year-old wing, who was brought in more than three years ago as the seventh-overall pick and one of the cornerstones of the franchise’s next rebuild. Instead, the two sides are moving on with the same basic question hanging over the season - what exactly is Coulibaly worth right now?
That question has only gotten trickier because the version of Coulibaly Washington has seen so far still looks a lot like the rookie who arrived with elite tools and a thin offensive résumé. The defense and athleticism are real.
The shot development has been a work in progress. Even with offseason clips fueling optimism about a changing jumper, the on-court product hasn’t fully caught up yet.
The mismatch between projection and production is part of why the market never seemed to get comfortable here. Coulibaly’s value is tied to what he might become, but Washington has also had reason to want another year of evidence before making a major commitment.
He has flashed more on offense - career-high shooting splits and totals as a playmaker and scorer - but those numbers came with caveats. A lot of the best stretches landed in March and April, when injuries had thinned the league and the overall environment was less reliable.
Before that, his Wizards tenure mostly featured a limited scorer with some serious bounce on defense, not a finished product. And that’s where the negotiation clearly hit a wall: Washington couldn’t quite project him as a franchise-level piece, and Coulibaly’s camp didn’t appear ready to settle for a number that treated him like anything less than a young player trending upward.
On Media Day, Coulibaly said he wasn’t spending his energy worrying about the contract situation. That stance now pushes the conversation to the season itself, where he’ll have 82 games to keep changing the picture.
There’s still a path for him to stay in Washington. The Wizards can match any offer sheet that comes his way once restricted free agency opens next summer. But the lack of an extension also means the door is open for him to test the market, with Washington left to decide whether to pay up or let him move on.
For now, the opportunity is simple enough: play, produce and make the decision harder. Trae Young, who helped frame some of the preseason expectations around Coulibaly, said, “Bilal knows how to get downhill, and he can shoot it now.
Everybody knows he can shoot it. I’ve seen the work he put in, I’m glad it’s coming to fruition.”
That belief may still prove justified. Coulibaly will have room to work alongside AJ Dybantsa, Alex Sarr, Kyshawn George and the rest of Washington’s young group, and Young’s passing should help him get cleaner chances around the rim. With a deeper starting lineup, the move to the bench could also take some pressure off him as a scorer after late-season stretches last year asked for more than he was ready to carry.
Even so, the preseason offered more of the same mixed bag: defensive impact, limited offensive punch and shooting that still needs to catch up. If the pieces finally come together - the finishing, the jumper, the hustle-defense combination - then Washington’s patience starts to look smart. If not, the Wizards may be headed toward a more complicated decision a year from now.
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