Wizards, Pacers swap 7th and 8th overall picks

After drafting Bilal Coulibaly seventh overall, the Pacers are trading him to Washington.

Washington’s dizzying week of trades continued on Draft night. The Wizards agreed in principle to acquire seventh overall pick Bilal Coulibaly from the Indiana Pacers on Thurday night in exchange for eighth overall pick Jarace Walker and two second-round picks.

we have agreed in principle to acquire Houston forward Jarace Walker from the Wizards in a trade to be finalized later.

welcome to Indiana, Jarace! @NerdWallet | #GoldOnTheClock pic.twitter.com/ENzjoP2Urs

— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) June 23, 2023

Official: We've agreed in principle to acquire the draft rights to Bilal Coulibaly.

We also drafted Tristan Vukcevic with the 42nd overall pick.

Read more ⤵️https://t.co/y68D8wZVZ3

— Washington Wizards (@WashWizards) June 23, 2023

The Pacers selected French forward Bilal Coulibaly on behalf of the Wizards, who add the 6-foot-7 swingman to a dramatically remade roster. Washington is reportedly fresh off agreeing to trades sending established veterans Bradley Beal to Phoenix and Kristaps Porzingis to Boston, with Kyle Kuzma’s unrestricted free agency still to unfold. The 18-year-old Coulibaly would join a far younger group on Washington that reportedly includes Jordan Poole, Tyus Jones and Landry Shamet.

“Bilal brings energy and ability on both sides of the floor and we see his trajectory continuing to trend upward as his play catches up to his elite physical attributes,” said Wizards General Manager Will Dawkins.  “We feel that we improved the long-range outlook of our team tonight by adding him as a youthful, versatile and highly-skilled player.”

Indiana, meanwhile, will obtain the draft rights to eighth overall pick Jarace Walker. The 19-year-old forward adds a versatile frontcourt element to a still-young Pacers team headlined by first-time All-Star Tyrese Haliburton and veteran big man Myles Turner.

“I was super excited,” Walker said, per Pacers.com. “Just to know where I’m going, just to take that deep breath. The butterflies let loose. I was definitely happy.”