The Chicago Bulls’, need to figure out their identity for the rest of the season.
The Bulls VP of Basketball Ops, Artūras Karnišovas, didn’t give any reassurances to fans, about what the plans for the Bulls will be. Karnišovas only gave mixed messages at his post-trade deadline press conference.
Instead, Karnišovas said that the Bulls could look to fight to get into the playoffs. However, the Bulls should be trying to focus on finding players to build around for next season and getting a better position in the draft.
The Chicago Bulls rookie is the piece to build around
Even though the Bulls’, are fighting to tread water in the Eastern Conference, they have one piece in Matas Buzelis, who is quickly becoming a force to be reckoned with. In the Bull’s 132-111 loss Saturday night against the Golden State Warriors, Buzelis was impressive from both a scoring standpoint and a facilitating end.
In the loss, Buzelis impressed with having his sixth straight game with double-digit points and having a career-high 5.0 assists.
“6th straight game in double figures for Matas Buzelis”
6th straight game in double figures for Matas Buzelis
— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) February 9, 2025
“Matas Buzelis has career-high 5 assists”
Matas Buzelis has career-high 5 assists
— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) February 9, 2025
The 20-year-old also managed to grab 4.0 rebounds, shooting 60% from the floor, and have a block and a steal in 29.0 minutes on the court. Since head coach Billy Donovan decided to give Buzelis more minutes, he has seen his averages tick up and is now ranked 37th in the league for blocks a game at 0.9.
Buzelis can be the frontman for the Bulls
Now that the Bulls have traded away their star, Zach LaVine, the Bulls need to find another face to build around to recapture their identity. Buzelis has all the earmarks to be a star and is quickly showing he has the attitude and makeup of being the frontman for the Bulls.
Buzelis is about to take part in the Dunk Contest, where Buzelis will have a chance to propel his name into stardom if he can put on a show. Before being traded, LaVine, a two-time champion (2015,2016), was helping the young Bull with his dunks to improve his chances.
"SEE YOU IN THE DUNK CONTEST."
MATAS BUZELIS GETTING #ATTSlamDunk READY 💥💥 pic.twitter.com/z3TTItII63
— NBA (@NBA) February 9, 2025
An impressive young talent
Feb 8, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Bulls forward Matas Buzelis (14) defends Golden State Warriors guard Brandin Podziemski (2) during the first half at United Center. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images
Buzelis will have plenty of opportunities the rest of this season to impress and cement himself as a starter for the Bulls.
Having all the talent and makeup to be a centerpiece for the Bulls, they need to start finding players to build around Buzelis and add to the guys they currently have.
If the Bulls can do that, then there should be hope that this rebuild won’t take long.
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