Wizards' Young Wing's Return Puts Roster in Question

Third year guard Bilal Coulibaly made his long awaited return to basketball in the Washington Wizards' 108-127 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder. Despite the loss, Coulibaly smashed expectations, finishing the game with 16 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists. His return was both encouraging for him and his development — along with being a possible wakeup call for the Wizards front office. 

Underperforming Veteran Talent

Washington has recently made a point to acquire veteran talent. Whether their goal is to flip said talent for future assets, or keep them around in hopes of mentoring the Wizards young core remains unknown. However, recent performances from a select few Wizards have given fans the motive to push for moves to be made. 

Anyone who is following Wizards basketball this season knows that Khris Middleton and CJ McCollum are underperforming. Whether it's just a bad stretch of games, or a sign of regression is up to interpretation, but one thing remains clear: they aren't contributing to winning basketball. Both McCollum and Middleton have had cold stretches in games where their poor performances have sparked runs for other teams.

In addition, their inconsistent shot-making and poor defensive ability makes it very difficult for Washington to win the minutes that they are on the floor for. In that time frame, younger Wizard wings have stepped up and played great basketball, along with a few having their development being sacrificed because of lack of opportunity. The combination of young talent and regressing vets has put Washington in quite the predicament.