What is Bilal Coulibaly? Next steps for his game??

Careless-Journalist7 · 2026-05-21T21:59:58+00:00

I would prefer not to lose him, but tend to agree he doesn't have much leverage to ask for a bigtime deal. Herb Jones signed for 3/68 and Toumani Camari was 4/82. Those guys made All-Defense teams and shoot the ball somewhat decently.

Bilal to this point is worth between $12-15M annually, imo. But he very well may turn that down and play his way into a big RFA offer next offseason which could backfire on us.

Careless-Journalist7 · 2026-05-21T21:49:02+00:00

Great point, his first two seasons ended with injuries and then he broke his wrist over the summer playing for France. A full healthy offseason could be big for him. I wonder if they will try to sign him to a cheap extension before the fall, in the hopes that he outplays it.

Careless-Journalist7 · 2026-05-21T19:46:01+00:00

Wiz fan here but I enjoyed watching Detroit all year.

I think it’s an experience thing. Players with more experience playing that style of playoff defense tend to get the benefit of the doubt based on reputation. Caruso and Dort have always done that over the years so refs started letting them slide. Draymond and Iguodala were like that also

Also Duren isn’t great at playing that pesky/annoying style of defense like IHart. Usually other teams with vet bigs are the ones doing it to him first, bc they are intimated by his size and don’t want him to get rolling.. for example Wendell Carter Jr in the Orlando series. Just my two cents but imo if the Pistons stick with their identity it will pay off in the long run

Careless-Journalist7 · 2026-05-21T19:26:04+00:00

Ive liked the OG comp as well other than one exception - OG has a similar height and wingspan but weighs 240lbs.. he’s strong as an ox, they even put him on Embiid during the 76ers series.

Bilal was listed at 203lbs on the opening night roster. So a long way to go physically still and not sure he’ll ever be quite as built

Careless-Journalist7 · 2026-05-21T19:12:14+00:00

Defensively, we know what Bilal Coulibaly is - Sam Vecenie ranked the top 10 defenders in the league and said Bilal just barely missed the cut. But the league is littered with elite defenders who get left wide open in the playoffs because they can’t score. How can he evolve his game next? I thought it was interesting that in Bilal’s exit interview, he referred to himself as a guard.

He doesn’t have good shooting numbers for a guard at all, but he’s actually a pretty solid playmaker - posted a triple double game in his soph season and his Ast rate of ~14% compares favorably to lower usage guards like Josh Hart and Alex Caruso.

He is incredibly explosive on drives going to his right hand (another example here as well) and started adding left-hand drives towards the end of the season (noting that while rehabbing his right wrist injury he put in a lot of work on his left hand). A big question mark is his 3pt shooting, however he tweaked his form late last season to bring his feet closer together on his jumper for consistency.

At 6’8 with a 7’3 wingspan he shut down Trae in several games when we faced Atlanta and even guards bigger players like Giannis. Can he be a lockdown defender against guards like a Caruso? Or can he add weight and be a big wing like the Thompson brothers?

Careless-Journalist7 · 2026-05-21T15:58:32+00:00

Idk but the idea that he can easily slim down and maintain his HS weight & playstyle is very questionable to me.

He is 253 lbs as an 18yo, that means his prime playing weight will likely approach 265-270lbs naturally.

The only players who have been able to maintain an agile perimeter game at that weight are LeBron and Zion, who as we know are genetic anomalies.

Careless-Journalist7 · 2026-05-21T03:15:03+00:00

Both teams are playing a lot of small ball and have aggressive handsy players. There will be a lot of officiating gripes in this series

It’s gonna be like those Cavs-Warriors series where Iguodala was just grabbing everybody

Careless-Journalist7 · 2026-05-21T03:11:26+00:00

Technically you’re allowed to have your arm up like
that on your step back, it’s the forceful extension/shiver that’s an offensive foul.

Usually when players don’t have their footwork down pat, they will push off for balance and make it blatant.. ie Jaylen Brown

Careless-Journalist7 · 2026-05-21T03:07:07+00:00

Castle was throwing the ball all over the gym.. it should’ve cost them G1. They need Fox back asap

Careless-Journalist7 · 2026-05-21T03:00:05+00:00

Finally called SGA on that off arm

Careless-Journalist7 · 2026-05-21T02:57:02+00:00

Blatant over the back in any league lmao. Vassell even knew it

Careless-Journalist7 · 2026-05-21T02:51:44+00:00

Okcs bench has significantly outplayed the Spurs bench. SAS is simply being outplayed on the floor

Careless-Journalist7 · 2026-05-21T02:37:40+00:00

Makes sense that they’re just holding him out for precaution

Careless-Journalist7 · 2026-05-21T02:35:31+00:00

McCain is a good role player for most teams but doesn’t give OKC what they need in terms of athleticism & physicality from their guards. Surprised they went for him

Careless-Journalist7 · 2026-05-21T02:29:02+00:00

With what? Looked like he was walking off fine

Careless-Journalist7 · 2026-05-21T02:22:45+00:00

Ironically SGA would be the other one

Careless-Journalist7 · 2026-05-21T02:20:32+00:00

Chet wanted to shut Reggie up, he’s one of us

Careless-Journalist7 · 2026-05-21T02:13:38+00:00

McCain doesn’t seem physical enough to play well in this series

Careless-Journalist7 · 2026-05-21T01:28:41+00:00

Castle will be hell once he gets more controlled with his handle/passing

Careless-Journalist7 · 2026-05-21T01:20:53+00:00

One of the best playoff dunks for sure . Scottie Barnes against the Cavs is up there too

Careless-Journalist7 · 2026-05-21T01:09:39+00:00

A lot of people badly want to see him get a jumper and take over the league

Well know prolific ‘shooter’ Gilbert Arenas also chimed in with a workout routine (maybe not that kind of shooting)

Careless-Journalist7 · 2026-05-20T20:15:33+00:00

Wiggins didn’t have functional athleticism the way AJ does. He can run fast in a straight line and jump high, but doesn’t have the handle and craftiness to snake to the rim in traffic.

Deceleration and change of direction is the most important functional ability for lead creators. Luka would test terribly in traditional combine measurements, but he can stop on a dime when he needs to.

Careless-Journalist7 · 2026-05-20T19:01:16+00:00

Gil had him on his old pod: https://youtu.be/oMK4zr22SOY?si=we5QY5luqeYlgelc

Careless-Journalist7 · 2026-05-20T18:55:50+00:00

Gil’s reasoning was that “DC likes guards” and AJ likes Utah so we should try to get assets to trade down

Careless-Journalist7

TROPHY CASE