Suspect names ahead of Matas Buzelis for Rookie of the Year in recent survey

The best rookie five years from now: Matas Buzelis gets some love 

The same group was also asked which rookie would be the best in five years' time and Buzelis did get one vote. 

Sheppard (8) was the big favorite with Castle (3), Donovan Clingan (2), Nikola Topic (2), Buzelis (1), Bub Carrington (1) and Dalton Knecht all getting votes. 

The surprise here was Topic, the youngest player in the draft who isn’t likely to even play next season. It may be a year after that before he joins the NBA, so it was surprising he got two votes. The unknown is always a powerful drug in the NBA. 

It’ was also surprising to see Edey not featured, which tells us most execs, coaches and scouts see him as a solid NBA rotation player with a low ceiling. Given that, it’s surprised to see Knecht get a vote, as he fits the same category. 

None of this really matters, but knowing Buzelis, he’ll use this as fodder for motivation this summer as he tries to prove the Chicago Bulls got the best rookie.