The Chicago Bulls are in the midst of reshaping their roster in the post-Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan era, and according to a Chicago coach who spoke with Keith Smith of Spotrac at Summer League, Matas Buzelis seems to be a big part of their future plans. They believe in him and, perhaps even more importantly, he believes in himself.
“He’s going to be really, really good,” a Bulls coach told Smith. “He wants it so damn bad. This kid pushes himself so hard. And you see that on the floor too. But it’s the quiet moments when you see him work. He’s wildly intense about getting better and improving.”
Now, it’s up to the Bulls and Buzelis himself to make it work in Chicago.
What can Matas Buzelis bring to the Bulls?
Down the stretch of the regular season, Buzelis really started to come into his own. His elite athleticism was finally being matched by his shot creation and individual skills on the offensive end.
He was rebounding the ball well, improving as a passer, and his three-point shot was falling far more consistently than it was when his rookie season kicked off. His defense was starting to get better, too.
Buzelis fits in perfectly with everything else the Bulls are doing. Coby White and Ayo Dosunmu are solid guards, though both will need contract extensions after next season, Josh Giddey looked great, but needs a new contract right now, and they just drafted Noa Essengue.
Moving forward, depending on how the Bulls want to operate (i.e. who they want to keep around and who they want to move on from), they could roll out some very interesting starting lineups around Buzelis.
Heading into next season, they could look to start Giddey, White, Buzelis, Essengue, and Nikola Vucevic, with a core of Dosunmu, Tre Jones, Kevin Huerter, Patrick Williams, Isaac Okoro, and Jalen Smith off the bench.
It’s not incredible, and the young players on the roster need to continue to develop, but it’s not a terrible start. And Buzelis fits into that mix perfectly.
With Giddey’s elite playmaking skills but lack of defense and shooting, the Bulls need guys who can create, shoot, and defend. Buzelis looks like he can grow into that exact mold of player.
His length and athleticism give him innate advantages on defense. He just needs to learn to make the most of them. Add in his shot creation, driving ability, and ever-improving three-point shot, and Buzelis is a perfect fit for what Chicago is building.