The first trade of the NBA Draft is in, and it sees a few teams swap top-10 picks.
According to reports from The Athletic's Shams Charania and ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, the Pacers, who made the seventh overall selection, and the Wizards, who selected eighth overall, have agreed to swap the rights of their draft picks.
Per the terms of the deal, Washington will receive French prospect Bilal Coulibaly while Indiana will receive Houston's Jarace Walker. Also included in the deal is future draft compensation.
The Sporting News has you covered with everything you need to know about the draft day swap.
MORE: Live grades & analysis for every pick in Round 1 of 2023 NBA Draft
Wizards-Pacers trade details
Wizards receive
- Rights to Bilal Coulibaly
Pacers receive
- Rights to Jarace Walker
- Two future second-round picks
The Wizards parted ways with future draft capital to acquire Coulibaly, whose stock quickly rose ahead of the NBA Draft. Coulibaly, who played alongside Victor Wembanyama with Metropolitans 92, is a 6-foot-8 forward that will not turn 19 until July 26.
Coulibaly's athleticism and talent make him one of the more intriguing prospects in this year's draft class. His youth makes the heights of his ceiling extremely hard to predict.
In order to acquire Coulibaly, Washington parted ways with some of its future draft capital. After deals to move Bradley Beal, Chris Paul and Kristaps Porzingis, the Wizards have more capital to move in deals like this one.
Walker, who is the University of Houston's highest draft pick since Hakeem Olajuwon was selected first overall in 1984, averaged 11.2 points and 6.8 rebounds as a freshman for the Cougars last season.
The Sporting News' Kyle Irving described Walker as "an elite defender." His 6-foot-7, 247-pound frame should allow him to translate to the physicality of the NBA.
