Matas Buzelis

Bulls Notes: Giddey, White, Karnisovas, Ball

The improved play of Josh Giddey and Coby White has turned the Bulls into a much better team, but it also means both players will be in position to demand big contracts soon, writes Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times.

Giddey has been putting up All-Star numbers since Zach LaVine was traded to Sacramento last month. He’s averaging 20.9 points, 8.9 rebounds, 7.7 assists and 1.5 steals per game since the deal while shooting 51.1% from the field and 48.9% from three-point range. He’ll be a restricted free agent this summer, as he and the team were unable to reach an extension agreement after he was acquired in a trade with Oklahoma City last June.

Cowley observes that the Bulls are in position to let Giddey test the market and match whatever offer he gets because there are so few teams with significant cap room. However, they would be risking a strained relationship if he’s stuck with a below-market contract. Cowley estimates Giddey’s worth at $28MM to $30MM per season.

White has one season left on his deal at $12.9MM before entering unrestricted free agency in 2026. Cowley notes that he’s averaging 29.5 PPG in March with back-to-back Player of the Week honors and is likely to get at least $40MM in the first year of his next contract if he continues to perform at or near this level.

There’s more from Chicago:

  • The Bulls could have tanked after trading LaVine and losing Ayo Dosunmu, Lonzo Ball and Tre Jones to injuries, but they’re playing their best basketball of the season. They’ve embraced coach Billy Donovan‘s extreme up-tempo style that puts constant pressure on opposing defenses, per Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic. “We’ve shown over the last month, six weeks, that we can compete with anybody,” Giddey said. “It’s just the way we play the game, I think it wears teams down. We get up and down. We run. We put heat on teams to get back, and a lot of veteran teams don’t particularly want to get back and play in transition, so we understand our game plan and our identity. When we stick to it, we’re a tough team to beat.”
  • Executive VP of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas offered some insight during an appearance on the broadcast of Thursday’s game, tweets KC Johnson of Chicago Sports Network. Karnisovas has been very happy with Jones, Kevin Huerter and Zach Collins, whom the Bulls received in the LaVine trade, saying the front office targeted young players with NBA experience and high basketball IQs. He added that the organization was determined to keep its first-round pick in 2025, along with future draft assets, and is pleased with how the younger players on the roster have developed. He said rookie forward Matas Buzelis needs to get stronger, but he’s humble and has a strong work ethic.
  • Ball continues to make progress toward returning from a sprained right wrist, and Donovan indicated that he’ll be back in the rotation if he’s able to play again this season, Cowley adds in a separate story. “I get a little concerned with the minutes we’ve played some guys and the pace we’ve been playing, and with Coby, his minutes have been up there, so I think we need another backcourt player,” Donovan said. “I don’t know what the minutes restriction will be, but being able to plug him in and get him back into the fold will be good.”

International Notes: Sabonis, NBA Candidates, Canada, PSG

Kings star Domantas Sabonis is expected to miss this summer’s EuroBasket tournament due to personal reasons, sources tell BasketNews.com.

According to BasketNews, the Lithuanian big man is expected to inform Linas Kleiza — the GM of Lithuania’s national team — of his decision when Kleiza visits the United States. Kleiza will also meet with Matas Buzelis and Jonas Valanciunas during the trip, per the report.

Here are a few more international notes:

  • A handful of EuroLeague players could land NBA contracts this summer. Some hold previous NBA experience; others do not. According to EuroHoops.net, Anadolu Efes guard Darius Thompson is the strongest candidate to sign with an NBA club in the offseason. Veteran guards Tyler Dorsey and Nigel Williams-Goss are among the other players to watch.
  • Who will replace Jordi Fernandez as the next men’s head coach of Canada’s national team? Multiple sources have suggested to Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca that Gordon Herbert is the frontrunner for the job. Herbert, a Canadian who played for the team that made the Olympics in 1984, is currently the head coach of Bayern Munich and recently coached Germany’s national team. Former NBA assistant Nate Mitchell and current Raptors assistant Jama Mahlalela are among the other possible candidates, Grange reports.
  • Paris Saint-Germain has interest in joining the NBA’s European league, either by purchasing Paris Basketball or by starting a new team, according to Laurent Perrin and Julian Lesage of Le Parisien (hat tip to Sportando). Commissioner Adam Silver said Thursday that the NBA and FIBA are moving forward on the possibility of a new European league, though he noted the process is still in the early stages.

Bulls Notes: Buzelis, Jones, Giddey, Ball

If there’s a “rookie wall” for Bulls forward Matas Buzelis, he crashed through it Saturday night, writes Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. Buzelis scored a career-high 31 points in a convincing win over the Lakers, shooting 12-of-18 from the field and 5-of-10 from three-point range.

It was a welcome breakthrough for Buzelis, whose playing time has been declining recently. Cowley notes that he was shooting just 24% from three-point range over his previous six games and was limited to single digits in points in four of those outings.

“People can say what they want to say,” Buzelis said. “I haven’t hit a wall. I feel like I’ve got good energy out there. There’s been some games where the offense hasn’t really been going for me, but some nights are like that. Defensively, I feel like I’ve been really good.”

It’s been a challenging road trip for Buzelis, who was assigned to guard LeBron James on Saturday after previous matchups with Kevin Durant and DeMar DeRozan. Cowley points out that Thursday’s game in Sacramento was particularly tough for the rookie forward, who was a minus-10 overall and only played about three minutes in the second half.

“I think I’ve learned the most about basketball the last four or five months than I have in my total life,” Buzelis said. “Being in the NBA, playing against all these guys, now it’s just building it, making the tools sharper, everything sharper. Handles, shooting, defense, all of it. I know I’m going to be a really good player. I put the work in, the effort in every day, and I love this sport. I’ll do anything it takes to better myself.”

There’s more on the Bulls:

  • With Tre Jones sidelined for at least the next two weeks due to a sprained left foot, there’s only a slight chance he’ll be able to return before the regular season ends on April 13, Cowley states in a separate story. The Bulls would love to have him back for the play-in tournament, which starts two days later, but everything hinges on how quickly he can recover. “The hope is he would be able to come back, but we’re probably not really going to know much until after that ramp-up starts,” coach Billy Donovan said. “He’s going to be in a boot for a while. It’s a pretty moderate sprain in his foot, and once he’s able to clear that hurdle, the next part is going to be where his pain is at, how much he can ramp up and how soon he’ll be able to play. So we probably won’t know much until we get through those two weeks.”
  • Josh Giddey narrowly missed a quadruple-double on Saturday with 15 points, 10 rebounds, 17 assists and eight steals. He also went 1-of-2 from three-point range, bringing him to 37.9% from beyond the arc for the season. In the same piece, Cowley notes that long-distance shooting was one of the biggest question marks about Giddey when he was acquired in an offseason trade with Oklahoma City. “I think it’s reps; I haven’t changed anything,” Giddey said. “I started to figure out the last two months, missed shot, made shot, move on to the next one. That mindset has kind of been drilled into me, and that’s helped a lot. Now I’m to the point that if I shoot 10 and miss, I shoot the 11th. A lot of shooting is between the ears, so structurally, I haven’t changed anything.”
  • Lonzo Ball has missed 10 straight games with a right wrist injury, but Donovan said there’s hope he can return during an upcoming two-game homestand, Cowley adds.

Central Notes: Fontecchio, Toppin, Buzelis, Williams

Simone Fontecchio was re-signed by the Pistons on a two-year, $16MM contract last summer. The forward’s shooting numbers are down this season but coach J.B. Bickerstaff has stuck with him on the second unit. Fontecchio delivered his best performance of the season in Detroit’s 46-point thumping of New Orleans on Monday, with 23 points and seven rebounds.

“We trust these guys and we don’t live game by game, we give guys an opportunity to build a track record,” Bickerstaff told Omari Sankofa II of the Detroit Free Press. “We give guys an opportunity to play with freedom and confidence. And we know Simo’s capable of knocking down shots. It never wavered from our end. We know we’re going to need all of them and I thought (Monday) was a great night for him, to go 9-of-10 from the field and 5-of-5 from three. It was great to see it.”

Fontecchio is appreciative that Bickerstaff has continued to rely on him.

“It’s important,” Fontecchio said. “They know I can shoot it in many ways, being a team player and locker room player, grabbing rebounds, playing defense and making the right play on offense.”

We have more from the Central Division:

  • The Pacers got a monster game out of Obi Toppin on Monday. He scored 34 points and hit four overtime three-pointers in their victory over Minnesota. Toppin was signed to a four-year, $58MM contract last offseason to remain in an Indiana uniform. It was strong all-around effort from the Pacers unheralded players, Dustin Dopirak of the Indianapolis Star notes. The team was missing four of its top five scorers and had to use a handful of players on two-way and 10-day deals, but still had eight players score in double figures.
  • Matas Buzelis made his 17th straight start for the Bulls in their 111-97 road win over the Jazz on Monday, scoring 17 points on 7-for-13 shooting. He also had nine rebounds, two assists and one blocked shot in 30 minutes. The rookie forward is averaging 12.1 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 26.4 minutes per game as a starter. “With Matas, I think he’s got huge upside. I felt like Lauri (Markkanen) had huge upside even though he’s gone to Cleveland and he’s come (to Utah), but I think he’s constantly, each year, taken a step,” Bulls coach Billy Donovan told Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic. “I think Matas can do the exact same thing. I’m not saying they’re the exact same players, but I think he can make those kinds of steps.”
  • The Bulls’ decision to hand power forward Patrick Williams a five-year, $90MM contract last summer doesn’t look like a wise investment at the moment. Williams is averaging a career-low 8.9 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 49 games, including 35 starts. There is one aspect of his game where he could show some progress the remainder of this season — his decision-making — before entering the offseason with a plan for how live up to that contract, Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun Times writes. “I think he’s a guy who, early in his career — and it’s still early in his career — had a hard time getting over mistakes,” Donovan said. “I think he’s gotten past that and he’s been better with that. The other part is the decision-making part of it. There’s times he’s got to get off [the ball]. There’s times he’s got to shoot. There’s times he’s got to drive it.”

Bulls Notes: Jones, Buzelis, Collins, Mirage

Following Thursday’s victory over Brooklyn, Bulls head coach Billy Donovan praised Tre Jones, saying the fifth-year point guard has a knack for making winning plays, according to K.C. Johnson of Chicago Sports Network (Twitter link), who points out that the impending free agent recorded five points, four rebounds and four assists in the fourth quarter.

Being a part of a winning culture, a winning team, that’s the whole reason of playing basketball really,” Jones said.

Jones, who was acquired from San Antonio in the Zach LaVine trade, has started each of the past five games, averaging 14.0 points, 6.0 assists, 5.4 rebounds and 1.2 steals on .500/.500/.769 shooting over that span (33.3 MPG). Like his older brother Tyus Jones, Tre is known for his ability to take care of the basketball, having recorded 54 assists against only eight turnovers in 14 games with Chicago (an assist-to-turnover ratio of 6.75-to-1).

Here’s more on the Bulls:

  • Lottery pick Matas Buzelis hit the rookie wall at some point over the past couple weeks, observes Julia Poe of The Chicago Tribune. As Poe details, Buzelis was visibly exhausted on Monday against Indiana, and while he had more energy on Thursday vs. Brooklyn, he only played 15 minutes after averaging 27.5 over his past 17 games. “That’s part of his development,” Donovan said. “Is he eating well? Is he hydrating well? Is he getting good sleep? You can maybe get away with that playing 10 minutes a game. When you all of a sudden start playing 26, 28, 30, 32 minutes a night on a regular basis, there’s a toll it takes on your body.”
  • In the same story, Poe notes that Zach Collins has been ahead of Jalen Smith on the center depth chart the past two games after Nikola Vucevic returned from a calf injury that sidelined him for seven contests. Collins, who was also acquired in the LaVine deal, has averaged 11.9 PPG, 8.6 RPG, 2.6 APG, 0.9 SPG and 0.8 BPG on .554/.333/.879 shooting in 12 games for the Bulls (25.0 MPG). He’s owed about $18.1MM next season prior to 2026 free agency, while Smith is under contract through 2027.
  • The Bulls have won four straight, bolstering their chances of not only securing a play-in berth, but perhaps passing Miami or Orlando to move up a spot or two in the standings. The recent stretch of play is nothing but a mirage, in the view of Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times, who argues that head of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas should be blamed for his refusal to embrace a rebuild ahead of a 2025 draft that is highly touted, particularly at the top. Advancing to the playoffs would likely be viewed by Karnisovas as a sign of progress, but it would be catastrophic for the Chicago’s long-term outlook, according to Cowley.

Bulls Notes: Williams, White, Buzelis, Phillips, Play-In

Bulls forward Patrick Williams has missed the past two weeks with a right knee injury, but he appears to be nearing a return. According to Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times, the plan is for Williams to practice today in Miami, and, assuming things go well, he’ll suit up on Saturday against the Heat.

After being out for a while, I just want to check all the boxes, so to speak,” Williams said Thursday. “A lot of injuries happen when guys are trying to rush back more than anything, so I’m just trying to be careful in that aspect.

You guys know I’ve dealt with my fair share of injuries already, so I’m doing what I can to prevent what I can. The knee itself feels good; the quad tendon feels good. I want to get back knowing we’re in the homestretch of the regular season. I want to be able to be full-go swinging by the time we get to that play-in tournament.”

Here’s more on the Bulls:

  • Guard Coby White erupted for a career-high 44 points in Thursday’s comeback victory in Orlando, writes Julia Poe of The Chicago Tribune. White scored the team’s final nine points and recorded 17 points in the fourth quarter.
  • Centers Zach Collins and Jalen Smith fouled out in the fourth quarter yesterday, but recent draft picks Matas Buzelis and Julian Phillips stepped up late against a physical Orlando frontcourt, per Cowley. “Whatever it takes to get the win, honestly, and that’s what we had to do,” Buzelis said. “We had to be physical, dive on the floor, run in transition, and whatever we had to do. I’m proud of that, and I’m proud of Ju for sure.”
  • In another story for The Sun-Times, Cowley examines a few key questions facing the Bulls following the news of Ayo Dosunmu‘s season-ending shoulder surgery. Cowley believes Dosunmu’s injury could increase White’s trade value this offseason, perhaps making the team more likely to deal 2023/24’s runner-up for Most Improved Player.
  • In a column for The Chicago Tribune, Poe argues that another play-in berth for the Bulls feels all but inevitable. As Poe writes, Chicago has a 3.5-game lead on Brooklyn and Philadelphia and is 4.5 games up on Toronto for the final play-in spot with 19 games remaining on the team’s schedule. While things could certainly change, as all four teams have struggled lately, the Bulls’ reluctance to embrace a tanking season will likely come back to bite them when the draft lottery rolls around, Poe opines.

Bulls Notes: Collins, Buzelis, Giddey, Williams

Injuries left Zach Collins as the Bulls‘ only remaining option at center for the past two games, resulting in a lot of minutes for the newly acquired big man, writes Julia Poe of The Chicago Tribune. With Nikola Vucevic out of action to “proactively” rest a calf injury and Jalen Smith in concussion protocol, Collins made two straight starts, logging 28 minutes in Monday’s contest and 38 on Wednesday.

“I’m tired,” joked Collins, who was only averaging 11.8 minutes off the bench in San Antonio before being traded earlier this month. “I guess I’m getting all the minutes I want.”

Poe notes that Collins has faced a challenging adjustment moving into coach Billy Donovan’s up-tempo approach, which has been necessary because of the team’s overall lack of size. Collins has played well enough since the deal that Donovan indicated he might use some double-big lineups when Vucevic and Smith are healthy. That could happen soon, as K.C. Johnson of Chicago Sports Network tweeted that Smith participated in this morning’s shootaround.

Collins is also working to solidify his future with the Bulls, who are expected to try again this summer to trade Vucevic.

“You want to help put your team in a position to win,” Collins said. “Great individual games don’t really mean much if you can’t get the win.”

There’s more from Chicago:

  • Suns star Kevin Durant was impressed by rookie forward Matas Buzelis when the teams met last weekend, Poe adds in a separate story. Buzelis wasn’t intimidated in his matchup with an NBA legend, posting 15 points and three rebounds in 24 minutes. “I like Matas,” Durant said. “I liked him when he was with the G League Ignite. He’s long, athletic and can shoot it. He is definitely going to have some bumps and bruises as he gets through these first few years in the league trying to figure stuff out. The more experience, the more reps he gets on the floor as a starter, the better he’ll become.”
  • The Bulls shouldn’t be fooled by Josh Giddey‘s recent hot streak, Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic states in a mailbag column. Giddey is averaging 19.4 points, 8.9 rebounds, 6.1 assists, 1.6 blocks and 1.3 steals per game since the trade deadline while shooting 52.3% from the field and 62.5% from three-point range. However, Mayberry points out that Giddey, who will be a restricted free agent this summer, is playing for his next contract. Mayberry urges the front office to let the process play out with Giddey and not repeat last year’s mistake with Patrick Williams, who was re-signed before he could negotiate with other teams.
  • In the same piece, Mayberry expresses skepticism that any team will be willing to trade for Williams, who has four years and $72MM left on his current deal.

Bulls Notes: White, Smith, Buzelis, Young

The Bulls are in the unusual position of both collapsing and holding onto a play-in spot, writes Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. Chicago dropped its fifth straight game Thursday night in New York, falling to 22-34 overall. However, the weakness of the East leaves the Bulls with a game-and-a-half lead over Philadelphia and Brooklyn in the play-in race, and coach Billy Donovan isn’t interested in tanking the rest of the season.

“I think at some point, you gotta be able to talk about winning,” Donovan said. “The loss of DeMar (DeRozan), Alex (Caruso) and Zach (LaVine), in terms of the scoring and how great those guys are as players, losing those types of guys makes it challenging. But there is a responsibility for the guys that are playing. How can they find a way to do things to impact the outcome of the game? You’ve got to be accountable for those things.”

The absence of stars has caused opposing defenses to focus more on sixth-year guard Coby White, who had been a complementary scorer up until now. After Thursday’s overtime loss, White talked about how he handled late-game situations and the need to adapt to different looks.

“They were mixing up coverages,” White said. “They were blitzing, then not coming back, so I was just trying not to force it and let the game come to me. (Josh) Giddey had it going, (Lonzo Ball) had it going, (Nikola Vucevic) had it going, so take advantage of those moments. If that’s how they’re going to play me, then I have to be more of a playmaker, screening, those types of things. It’s definitely been a difference, but it’s something you’ve got to get adjusted to.”

There’s more on the Bulls:

  • Backup big man Jalen Smith was ruled out of Thursday’s game after taking a shoulder to the face from Karl-Anthony Towns in the second quarter, per Julia Poe of The Chicago Tribune. Smith dropped to the court after the contact, and Towns tumbled on top of him. Poe notes that the injury enabled Zach Collins to play 15 minutes in his second game with the team, but he produced just two points while missing all four of his shots from the field.
  • Matas Buzelis is hoping to make a late run at Rookie of the Year honors, Poe adds in a separate story. No clear favorite has emerged in this year’s race, and Buzelis, who was recently moved into the starting lineup, believes he has a chance to win over some voters. “I would like to win that award for sure,” he said. “I also want to win as many games as possible. But you know, if you win the games, then you’ll be in that conversation.” 
  • The two-way contract that Jahmir Young signed this week will cover next season as well, per Keith Smith of Spotrac (Twitter link).

Bulls Notes: Ball, Tanking, Roster Keepers, Williams

Loyalty factored into Lonzo Ball‘s decision to accept a two-year, $20MM extension from the Bulls, writes Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. The second year is a club option, and if the Bulls exercise it, Ball’s total salary for the next two seasons will be less than the $21.4MM he’s making this year. It’s his way of repaying the team for believing in him while he was sidelined with knee issues for two and a half seasons.

“Just the overall picture,” Ball explained. “The doctor being out here, so not having to deal with the rehab process like I have the last couple years, the relationship I have with the front office, the coaching staff, the young guys here, it all made sense for me to stay. That’s what I wanted ultimately, and we were able to come to an agreement.”

The announcement of the extension was somewhat of a surprise considering that Ball had been heavily involved in trade rumors leading up to the February 6 deadline. He was also headed toward free agency this summer, which could have resulted in a much larger payday, but he prefers the stability of staying in Chicago.

 “I’m in trade talks every year so that’s not a new thing to me, but I expressed to my agent (Rich Paul) that I wanted to stay, and they wanted to have me,” Ball said. “They stayed with me for probably the toughest journey in my life so far, so I was just trying to get back, man, and be loyal to who was loyal to me. I was brought up like that my whole life. I’m really big on family and I feel like it’s family here.”

There’s more on the Bulls:

  • The front office may regret not fully embracing a tanking strategy at the deadline, Cowley states in a separate story. Chicago sent Zach LaVine to Sacramento, but held onto Ball and veteran center Nikola Vucevic, sending mixed signals about which direction the franchise is headed. Cowley advocates emulating the 9-45 Wizards, as well as the Rockets and Pistons, who were able to quickly rebuild after tanking in recent seasons. Beyond having a better shot at Cooper Flagg, the top prize in this year’s draft, Cowley points out that there will be three potential franchise players in the 2026 class.
  • In another Sun-Times piece, Cowley tries to determine which players from the current roster should return next season. His list includes Ball, restricted free agent Josh Giddey, rookie Matas Buzelis, Jalen Smith and either Coby White or Ayo Dosunmu.
  • Patrick Williams will miss Thursday’s game at New York with soreness in his right quadriceps tendon, according to K.C. Johnson of Chicago Sports Network (Twitter link). Williams banged knees with another player in the final game before the All-Star break, but the injury doesn’t appear serious as he was able practice without restrictions on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Three-Peat For Mac McClung In Dunk Contest

Mac McClung ensured his place alongside the other legends in NBA dunk contest history by winning the event for the third straight time Saturday night.

McClung got perfect scores on all four of his dunks and was a clear favorite of the Chase Center crowd. His final-round victory came over Spurs rookie Stephon Castle, who registered a 99.6 score with two impressive slams of his own. Andre Jackson Jr. and Matas Buzelis were eliminated in the first round.

McClung brought some excitement to the event on his first dunk when he leaped over a car and threw the ball down behind his head. He followed that by jumping over his dunk coach for a twisting slam, then dunked two balls at once — one held by a friend on a spinning hoverboard and another by a man on a ladder — and finished off the night by jumping over 6’11” Evan Mobley (who was standing on a small platform) and touching the ball against the rim before slamming it home (video collection via YouTube).

At a press conference following the event, McClung deflected a question on whether the three-peat means he should be considered the greatest dunker of all time (Twitter video link from Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic).

“I definitely don’t think that’s something for me to say,” McClung responded. “… I was just extremely honored to be part of this weekend. The biggest thing is I genuinely love this contest, and I’m very honored to be here and just very appreciative.” 

McClung is on a two-way contract with the Magic and has only made one brief appearance in an NBA game this season. He plays for Osceola in the G League and has never been able to break through at the NBA level, getting into five total games with four teams since 2021.

McClung’s performance got the attention of other players around the league, including a couple of stars who hinted that they may consider participating in future dunk contests. Grizzlies guard Ja Morant tweeted, “Mac might make me decide to dunk,” and Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo responded, “If you do it. I’ll do it with you,” later adding, “I just gotta to warm up for three weeks prior to the contest.”

Damian Lillard missed the chance for another three-peat on Saturday, being eliminated in the first round of the Three-Point Contest after winning the event the past two years. Tyler Herro claimed this year’s crown by a point over Buddy Hield, with Darius Garland finishing third.

“I was definitely nervous going into the first round. But I thought I shot it pretty well in the second round, and then Buddy had the chance to tie it at the end,” Herro told reporters, including Joe Vardon of The Athletic. “Obviously a great competition, a bunch of great shooters. … Also, it felt cold in the arena the first time I went. For the second time, I felt more loose going right away.”

Mobley teamed with fellow Cavaliers All-Star Donovan Mitchell to capture the Skills Challenge in the night’s first event.