Believe it or not, the Wizards do have a veteran defensive skillset on their roster. It’s Delon Wright.
You may be thinking why we are discussing Delon Wright when he’s injured and going to be out for potentially the next six weeks.
Defense is an area that this team clearly struggles in without another big man center to help protect the rim. Delon Wright’s defensive capability, however, would still be extremely beneficial without the backup center the Wizards seem to need.
This season already had the makings of a tough one. The Wizards are in a rebuild and the team’s leadership has been transparent about that. However, if we take a good look at who the Wizards decided to keep around, amidst all the trades this offseason Delon Wright is still here.
Wright was repeatedly mentioned all throughout last year as the key piece missing on defense while he was injured. Former Wizards General Manager Tommy Sheppard mentioned in his 2022-2023 end of season press conference that the 46 games the team was without Delon Wright was where the season took a turn. His defensive abilities were needed last season, and they are certainly needed now.
With a coaching staff that is focused on player development, could the Delon Wright injury be an opportunity to ignite another defensive skillset on this roster?
Could this be a prime chance to enhance Bilal Coulibaly on the defensive side of the ball? He’s already showing that the skillset is there.
Coulibaly’s keen awareness of where the ball is and fearlessness could be developed even further in the hopes that he can be that defensive support as well on the team.
Player development will be key to assess this coaching staff. While not having Delon Wright currently is a hit to the team, perhaps this is the moment for Bilal Coulibaly to further grow defensively.
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