A light, yet honest, podcast conversation took place between current Bulls forward Matas Buzelis and former Bulls guard Lonzo Ball, as Buzelis appeared on Ball’s Ball in the Family Podcast with Lonzo & Gelo Ball. [warning: NSFW language]
The conversation between the one-time Bulls teammates offered a refreshing opportunity to hear Buzelis candidly share his point-of-view on the inner workings of the Chicago Bulls and the NBA at-large.
Buzelis spoke plainly at the opening of his conversation with Ball about learning about the business of basketball as it relates to the Bulls' house-cleaning that started at the 2026 NBA trade deadline, unraveled into the firing of Bulls front office principals Arturas Karnisovas and Marc Eversley, and culminated in the resignation of former Bulls head coach Billy Donovan.
"I just found out about the business side of basketball. It's a lot different."Matas Buzelis
Despite all the organizational changes, Buzelis ultimately conveyed his excitement for the upcoming 2026-27 Bulls season.
Going back to Billy Donovan, Lonzo Ball didn’t sugarcoat his observation on Donovan’s approach to coaching Buzelis, which Ball referred to as a leash being placed on Buzelis’ game by Donovan.
"M [Buzelis]Â got game, bro. But like he was put, when I was over there. He was on a leash, unfortunately."Lonzo Ball
In retrospect, hearing this conversation between Ball and Buzelis should serve as an honest confirmation that Billy Donovan’s usefulness as the Bulls' head coach expired by the time the Bulls drafted Buzelis. In that regard, Donovan should forever be respected by Bulls fans for knowing he needed to step aside and let the franchise have a complete rebuild around Buzelis and the rest of the Bulls roster.
Matas’ summer offseason insights are gold
In what should be music to Bulls head coach Tiago Splitter’s ears, Buzelis mentioned that he wants to have offseason training sessions with Portland Trail Blazers forward Deni Avdija, and he already is in contact with Avdija. Â
Buzelis displayed great self-awareness in acknowledging that he feels he shoots too many three-pointers and would like to attack the rim more, similar to Avidja.Â
Certainly, it helps Buzelis to also have Avidija’s former head coach, Splitter, in his locker room for the upcoming season to apply those same downhill offensive principles to Buzelis’ game.
Besides downhill scoring, Buzelis also revealed the thinking behind his time playing with the Lithuanian men’s national basketball team, which amounted to a concerted effort to speed up his basketball decision-making. Overall, a more decisive, downhill Matas Buzelis could be a lethal weapon in the NBA.
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