Matas Buzelis' emotional reaction to getting picked by hometown Bulls
06/27/2024 12:11 AM
The Chicago Bulls haven’t exactly made some moves to please their fans in recent weeks. They traded away Alex Caruso in a long-overdue deal, but instead of getting multiple first-round picks in return, they got Josh Giddey and Giddey alone from the Oklahoma City Thunder. What makes this more of a twist of the knife for Bulls fans is that the Thunder own the most first-round picks in the league, and they couldn’t even get one. Nonetheless, the Bulls’ selection of hometown hero Matas Buzelis should at least swing some fan interest back in their favor.
No one can put a price on comfort; with the Bulls, Buzelis should enjoy the warm support of a crowd who wants nothing more than to see a hometown kid succeed with the storied franchise. And Buzelis himself knew prior to the draft that playing for Chicago was what he wanted, and now that he reached his goal, it’s time for him to put in the work.
“I’m blessed, man. This is what I wanted. I wanted to be here. Thank you to the Bulls organization. I’m ready to work. I was born for this,” Buzelis told Monica McNutt in his immediate interview after being drafted, via ClutchPoints Twitter (X).
"I'm blessed, man. This is what I wanted. I wanted to be here. Thank you to the Bulls organization. I'm ready to work. I was born for this."
Matas Buzelis couldn't contain his emotions after being drafted by the Bulls
(via @NBA)pic.twitter.com/hJzLTEaga6
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) June 27, 2024
At the very least, the Bulls are getting a player full of confidence in Matas Buzelis. Buzelis wasn’t afraid to put Zaccharie Risacher, the first overall pick of the 2024 NBA Draft, on blast by saying that Risacher was ducking him, and now, the 19-year old forward is raring to start his NBA journey to further prove those who doubted him wrong.
“I thank everyone who doubted me ’cause I wouldn’t be here without you all. I use it as fuel. And everybody who supported me, I can’t thank you enough. The support cast has been insane. Thank you to everyone,” Buzelis added.
Matas Buzelis adds to the Bulls’ young core… is it full rebuild time in the Windy City?
Matas Buzelis is a 6’10 combo forward with playmaking feel; players of that size with guard skills don’t exactly grow on trees. The Bulls are going all-in on toolsy, all-around playmakers; Josh Giddey is a 6’8 point guard who is a mismatch problem as well, so there is certainly something brewing in the Windy City.
Coby White, one of the most improved players of last season, is only 24 years of age, and so is Ayo Dosunmu. Patrick Williams is set to enter restricted free agency, but he’s only 23 years of age. Dalen Terry is only 22. It may not be the most impressive young core, but the glimpses of it are there.
However, the Bulls are yet to commit to a direction; one report frustrated Bulls fans even further after it was said that the addition of Giddey has strengthened Chicago’s resolve to keep Zach LaVine on the team given how well they fit together. LaVine was nearly traded at this year’s deadline, and at 29 years old, he doesn’t exactly fit the Bulls’ timeline unless they decide to run it back and go for a play-in tournament spot yet again.
Nikola Vucevic is 33 years of age, and he’s in a slow, steady decline, and the Bulls could do well by trying to recoup some value for him before he drops off completely. DeMar DeRozan could be on the way out via free agency. Simply put, the time is now for the Bulls to embrace the youth movement.
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