Wizards projected lineup and rotations heading into 2023-24 season
Washington Wizards starting power forward: Kyle Kuzma
The Wizards turned many heads with their decision to re-sign Kyle Kuzma to a four-year, $90 million contract. It’s a simple case of “better to have the player than to not have the player,” as Washington can hand Kuzma a featured role, splashy numbers, and then potentially flip him for value in a future trade.
Several teams were rumored to have interest in Kuzma in free agency and he will undoubtedly garner future trade interest — perhaps as soon as February, when the Wizards are fully on the tank and desperate contenders will come knocking. Kuzma took another sizable step forward last season and he earned the contract. It’s not some massive overpay.
How Kuzma functions as the alpha dog in Washington will be interesting, to say the least. There’s a chance old bad habits creep back into the picture. He was a notoriously confident shot-taker with the Lakers back in his sixth man days. The Wizards will allow Kuzma a longer leash to create his own shots from the perimeter, but it wouldn’t benefit anybody — least of all Kuzma — for the offense to revolve around him jacking contested mid-range jumpers.
Kuzma will need to maintain discipline with his shot selection while balancing his increased role. He’s a gifted driver and he took a career-high 7.5 attempts per game from 3-point range last season. He only hit 33.3 percent of those attempts, so defenses will be content to give him a cushion, but Kuzma is enough of a shooter to keep his defender out of the paint. With several quality shooters around him and a great set-up man in Tyus Jones at point, Kuzma is well-positioned for a boatload of success. He averaged 21.2 points on 54.4 TS% as the third option. Now, those numbers could improve.
Primary backup power forward: Bilal Coulibaly
The Wizards moved up from No. 8 to No. 7 to select Bilal Coulibaly in June’s NBA Draft. The 18-year-old is one of the youngest players in the NBA and he will be treated with kids gloves as a result. The Wizards will rely on more experienced players, especially early in the season, while Coulibaly gets up to speed.
That said, Coulibaly is a better defender than most players his age. He’s a springy 6-foot-8 athlete who displays tremendous instincts when it comes to blowing up passing lanes or soaring for weak-side blocks. On offense, the 3-point shot came along in a big way late in the season for Mets 92. Plus, he popped as a straight-line driver in the French playoffs. He’s a definite talent and the Wizards have no reason not to give him some run.
Other players who could receive minutes at power forward: Danilo Gallinari, Patrick Baldwin Jr.
Danilo Gallinari landed in Washington as part of the Porzingis trade and has not been bought out yet, despite speculation. He could earn a rotation spot with his 3-point shooting, but Gallo is a defensive liability fresh off a torn ACL, so expectations should be tempered.