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Matas Buzelis

And-Ones: Maluach, 2024 Draft, Abu Dhabi, 40K-Point Club

March 6th, 2024 at 3:57pm CST by Luke Adams

Khaman Maluach, the top big man in the 2024 recruiting class, has committed to Duke, he tells Jonathan Givony of ESPN. Maluach had been playing at the NBA Academy Africa in Senegal.

The 7’2″ center, who is projected by ESPN to be the No. 3 overall pick in the 2025 NBA draft, will join projected No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg as part of a star-studded recruiting class for the Blue Devils. He chose Duke after also visiting Kentucky, Kansas, and UCLA and receiving offers from the G League Ignite and Australia’s NBL Next Stars program, per Givony.

“Duke is home, that’s where I belong.” Maluach said. “This was the hardest decision I’ve ever made. I felt like I could succeed anywhere, but I was most comfortable going to Duke. All the schools that were recruiting me are big-time programs, but in terms of my development and the relationships I built with the coaches, they were the best.”

Maluach became the third-youngest player in World Cup history last summer when – at age 16 – he played for a South Sudan squad that qualified for the Olympics for the first time ever.

Here are more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

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And-Ones: China, Filipowski, Williams, Mock Draft, Scariolo

February 25th, 2024 at 10:52am CST by Arthur Hill

Nets owner Joe Tsai believes the NBA is interested in resuming its relationship with China, writes Brian Lewis of The New York Post. In an interview Friday with CNBC, Tsai said previous tensions have thawed and preseason games may return to the country.

“I think the NBA is in a very good place with respect to its relationship with China,” Tsai said. “China is actually the NBA’s biggest fan base. So what happened before, I think it’s water under the bridge.”

China’s leaders were upset in 2019 when Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey, who was with the Rockets at the time, tweeted his support for anti-government protesters. Beijing responded by pulling the NBA off state-sponsored CCTV for almost two years, and commissioner Adam Silver estimated in 2021 that the dispute cost his league $400MM.

Tsai believes the NBA needs to include China as part of its appeal to a global market.

“I think just having the fans have real, in-person sort of interaction with the stars,” Tsai said. “I think that’s going to be important.”

There’s more news from around the basketball world:

  • Projected lottery pick Kyle Filipowski of Duke suffered a sprained ankle Saturday when Wake Forest fans stormed the court after a victory over the Blue Devils, per Aaron Beard of The Associated Press. The incident, combined with Iowa star Caitlin Clark being knocked down under similar circumstances last month, have sparked a debate about banning students from running onto the court. “Just trying to get my way off the court, and you know, you’ve got these crazy college students just doing whatever they want,” Filipowski said. “It’s got to be a little more protective when things like that happen.”
  • Jeremy Woo of ESPN (subscription required) examines the case for Colorado’s Cody Williams as the top pick in this year’s draft. Woo notes that the 6’8″ Williams has “viable guard skills” and often takes on a play-maker role in the Buffaloes’ offense. He’s connecting at 47.1% on three-pointers in limited attempts, and Woo sees him developing into an above average shooter. NBA scouts tell Woo that Williams would be a mid- to late-lottery pick in a stronger draft, but the absence of standout talent has him in consideration to be the first player off the board.
  • French center Alexandre Sarr tops the latest mock draft from Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report. Rounding out Wasserman’s top five are Nikola Topic, Zaccharie Risacher, Matas Buzelis and Ron Holland.
  • The new president of the Spanish Federation wants former Raptors assistant Sergio Scariolo to continue coaching the national team for the next four years, according to Eurohoops.
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Draft Notes: Buzelis, Ignite, Risacher, Sarr, Mocks

February 20th, 2024 at 12:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Matas Buzelis, who was the No. 1 prospect in the very first 2024 mock draft that ESPN’s Jonathan Givony published a year ago, had slipped to 10th in ESPN’s prospect rankings last month, but has rebounded nicely as of late, Givony writes in an Insider-only story.

After missing the first part of the G League season due to ankle problems, Buzelis has shown off an improved three-point shot in recent weeks (38.5% in his past 10 games) and has been better on the defensive end of the court, according to Givony, who notes that the Ignite guard/forward made an impact at All-Star weekend, hitting a game-winning shot in the Rising Stars semifinal on Friday.

While Buzelis hasn’t reclaimed that No. 1 spot on ESPN’s big board, he’s back up to No. 6. And, as Givony observes, in a class with no obvious top prospect, a strong finish to the G League season could put the 19-year-old back in the conversation for that first overall pick.

Here are a few more notes on the 2024 NBA draft:

  • Givony and Jeremy Woo of ESPN.com (Insider link) examine where things stand for the G League Ignite, noting that Adam Silver‘s comments at All-Star weekend suggest that the program’s days may be numbered. The Ignite are just 2-19 this season and player development has been inconsistent due to the lack of quality guard play, Woo writes. Still, it seems safe to assume the Ignite will be back for the 2024/25 season, since prospects like Dink Pate and Thierry Darlan are under contract for another year and the program continues to actively recruit high-profile prospects.
  • International prospects Zaccharie Risacher and Alexandre Sarr top the latest mock draft from Givony and Woo, with Kentucky’s Rob Dillingham at No. 3, Buzelis at No. 4, and Colorado’s Cody Williams at No. 5.
  • Risacher and Sarr are also the two players first off the board in the newest mock draft from Sam Vecenie of The Athletic. However, there are significant deviations from ESPN’s mock draft beyond that, starting with Serbian point guard Nikola Topic (No. 3) and Connecticut wing Stephon Castle (No. 5) cracking Vecenie’s top five. Topic is at No. 6 in ESPN’s mock, while Castle is all the way down at No. 15.
  • Krysten Peek of Yahoo Sports has also published a new mock draft for 2024, with Sarr claiming the top spot.
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NBA Announces Player Pool For 2024 Rising Stars Event

January 30th, 2024 at 3:27pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA has officially revealed the 11 rookies, 10 sophomores, and seven G League players who will take part in the Rising Stars event at All-Star weekend in Indianapolis next month.

The following players, as voted on by NBA coaching staffs, made the cut:

Rookies

Sophomores

G League Players

As was the case last season, the Rising Stars event will consist of four teams and three games. The seven G League players will comprise one team, coached by former NBA forward Detlef Schrempf. The other 21 players will be drafted to three squads coached by former NBA and WNBA stars Pau Gasol, Jalen Rose, and Tamika Catchings.

The four teams will be split into two first-round matchups and the winners of those two games will face one another for the Rising Stars championship. The two semifinals will be played to a target score of 40 points, while the final will be played to a target score of 25 points.

All three contests will take place on Friday, February 16 as part of All-Star weekend’s opening night.

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NBA G League Announces Up Next Participants

January 29th, 2024 at 1:40pm CST by Rory Maher

A pool of 28 players has been selected for the NBA G League’s Up Next Game at All-Star Weekend in Indianapolis, the NBAGL announced in a press release.

According to the release, the event features “four teams of seven players competing in two semifinal games. The winner of each semifinal will face off in a Championship game.

“The teams will be made up of 28 NBA G League players, including 10 selected by a fan vote. The remaining 18 players will be selected by the NBA G League and will include eight members of NBA G League Ignite and at least one member of the Indiana Mad Ants, the G League affiliate of the All-Star hosting Indiana Pacers. Each team will be coached by a head coach from the NBA G League.”

Players marked with an asterisk (*) are on two-way contracts.

Fan vote:

Former Kentucky guard Hagans received the most votes.

NBAGL selections:

G League Ignite:

They aren’t currently on NBA teams, but it’s worth noting that Labissiere and Bazley are ineligible for two-way deals because they each hold four years of NBA experience. Weatherspoon (three years), Hagans (one) and Williams (one) also hold at least some NBA experience.

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And-Ones: 2024 Draft, HS Prospects, Breakout Players, Ray

January 2nd, 2024 at 3:58pm CST by Luke Adams

ESPN draft experts Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo (Insider link) continue to rotate prospects in and out of the No. 1 spot on their draft board for 2024, moving French big man Alexandre Sarr into that top spot in place of USC guard Isaiah Collier, who has struggled for the Trojans as of late.

The 2024 draft class doesn’t have a clear headliner, so the race for No. 1 remains wide open. Matas Buzelis and Ron Holland, two G League Ignite youngsters who were atop ESPN’s big board during the summer of 2023, are now in the back end of the lottery at No. 10 and 11, respectively, while Collier has slipped all the way to No. 8.

Conversely, the latest risers on ESPN’s board include Colorado wing Cody Williams, who is up to No. 3 from No. 10, and Serbian point guard Nikola Topic, who has risen four spots to No. 5. Two more notable prospects who jumped from outside of the lottery into the top seven are French forward Tidjane Salaun and Kentucky guard Rob Dillingham, who moved up nine spots to Nos. 6 and 7, respectively.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

  • Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report breaks down his top 10 prospects in high school basketball, with Cooper Flagg, Cameron Boozer, and A.J. Dybantsa topping his list.
  • Michael Pina of The Ringer singles out eight players across the NBA who are taking their games to another level this season, from stars like Kings guard De’Aaron Fox and Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton to role players such as Heat sharpshooter Duncan Robinson.
  • Former Nuggets forward James Ray, the No. 5 overall pick in the 1980 draft, died last week at age 66 due to complications from a surgery, as Bennett Durando of The Denver Post writes. A college star for the Jacksonville Dolphins, Ray appeared in 103 NBA games across three seasons for Denver, then spent several years in Europe before retiring as a player.
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And-Ones: Officiating, Kabengele, Ignite, Maluach, Topic

December 26th, 2023 at 11:58am CST by Luke Adams

While he didn’t complain specifically about the way that Nikola Jokic was officiated on Monday, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr lodged a more general complaint about the officiating during his postgame media session after the Nuggets center made 18-of-18 free throws in a Denver victory, writes Kendra Andrews of ESPN.

“I have a problem with how we are legislating the defense out of the game,” Kerr said. “We are enabling players to B.S. their way to the foul line. If I were a fan, I wouldn’t have wanted to watch the second half of that game. It was disgusting. It was just baiting refs into calls, but the refs have to make those calls … the players are really smart in this league. For the last decade, they’ve gotten smarter and smarter. We have enabled the players, and they are taking full advantage.

“It’s a parade to the free throw line, and it’s disgusting to watch.”

Prior to Monday’s game, the Nuggets ranked dead last in the NBA in free throw makes per game (14.9). Led by Jokic’s 18 foul shots, Denver converted 26-of-32 attempts from the line in Monday’s win.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

  • Former first-round pick Mfiondu Kabengele is making a midseason move from Greece to Italy. The big man has parted ways with AEK Athens and has formally reached an agreement to join Reyer Venezia, the Italian club announced today in a press release. Kabengele appeared in 55 total NBA games for the Clippers, Cavaliers, and Celtics from 2019-23.
  • Sharing their impressions from last week’s G League Showcase Cup, Jeremy Woo and Jonathan Givony of ESPN.com (Insider link) note that it hasn’t been a good year for the G League Ignite, whose top prospects Matas Buzelis and Ron Holland did little to help their draft stock. Conversely, the NBA Academy Africa made a strong impression in Orlando, according to Givony, who was particularly impressed by 7’2″ prospect Khaman Maluach. Maluach appears to be giving strong consideration to playing college ball next season, Givony adds, with Duke and Kansas aggressively pursuing him.
  • Serbian prospect Nikola Topic, a projected top-10 pick, has spent the 2023/24 season so far on loan to Mega Basket, but he’ll be rejoining Crvena Zvezda and playing in the EuroLeague going forward, tweets Givony. The move will give the 18-year-old Topic an opportunity to compete in Europe’s top league for the rest of the season.
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And-Ones: Howard, Harkless, 2024 Draft, Buzelis

November 28th, 2023 at 2:45pm CST by Luke Adams

Former NBA star Dwight Howard is exploring potential opportunities in Europe and Australia in the hopes of playing his way back to the NBA, reports Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews.com. As Urbonas explains, if Howard were to sign with a team in the EuroLeague or Australia’s National Basketball League, he’d look to include an NBA out clause in his contract.

Howard, who played in Taiwan last season, met with Golden State in September, but the Warriors opted not to sign him. The three-time Defensive Player of the Year is facing sexual assault and battery allegations and is seeking to dismiss a civil lawsuit in Georgia related to those allegations.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

  • Veteran NBA forward Maurice Harkless signed a G League contract and has been acquired from the available player pool by the Rip City Remix, the Trail Blazers‘ affiliate (Twitter link). Harkless, a first-round pick in 2012, appeared in 621 NBA regular season games across 10 years, but wasn’t in the league last season. He’s just just 30 years old and will be looking to show with the Remix that he deserves a call-up.
  • In their latest dispatch on the 2024 draft class, Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo of ESPN.com (Insider link) identify Kentucky’s Reed Sheppard and Iowa State’s Milan Momcilovic as the most surprising NCAA freshmen so far this season and single out several prospects who have boosted their stock in November, including Arizona’s Keshad Johnson, Marquette’s Tyler Kolek, and Marquette’s Oso Ighodaro.
  • G League Ignite prospect Matas Buzelis, a contender for the No. 1 spot in the 2024 NBA draft, has yet to make his season debut in the NBAGL’s Showcase Cup due to an ankle injury. The Ignite have taken a cautious approach with Buzelis, according to Woo, who hears from a source that the 6’10” point forward is nearing a return and could play this weekend.
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And-Ones: Draft Rankings, Holland, Sarr, In-Season Tournament

November 6th, 2023 at 9:06am CST by Arthur Hill

With the college basketball season tipping off today, Jonathan Givony of ESPN has posted his top 25 prospects for the 2024 NBA draft, putting G League Ignite forward Ron Holland at the top of the list. Givony notes that Holland was already being hyped before impressive performances in exhibition games against Perth and in the FIBA Intercontinental Cup, where he averaged 20.0 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2.4 steals.

Scouts like Holland’s competitiveness, his ability to attack in the open court and the improvement he has shown as an outside shooter, Givony adds, but he needs to work on his shot selection and decision making. Givony also cautions that Holland isn’t viewed as a definite No. 1 pick like Victor Wembanyama was this year, and the ratings could change throughout the season.

Second on Givony’s list is Australian big man Alexandre Sarr, who also impressed scouts this summer. He totaled 43 points, 18 rebounds, 12 blocks and four assists in two games against the G League Ignite and provides a combination of mobility, skill and defensive versatility that’s rare in a 7-footer.

Rounding out Givony’s top five are USC point guard Isaiah Collier, Kentucky swingman Justin Edwards and French forward Zaccharie Risacher.

Here’s more from around the basketball world:

  • Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report has updated his full mock draft, with Holland and Sarr also holding the top two spots. G League Ignite forward Matas Buzelis is third in Wasserman’s rankings, followed by Connecticut shooting guard Stephon Castle and Duke point guard Tyrese Proctor. Another notable prospect, USC freshman Bronny James, is listed at No. 43 because of concerns over his health after he suffered cardiac arrest during a July workout.
  • In a discussion of Australian basketball, Kane Pitman, Olgun Uluc and Peter Hooley of ESPN discuss whether Sarr should consider wrapping up his NBL season by Christmas to start preparing for the draft. Sarr’s Perth Wildcats are off to a slow start, and it doesn’t appear his role on the team is likely to expand.
  • The NBA’s new in-season tournament was inspired by soccer’s FA Cup, which has captivated fans for a century and a half because of its unpredictable nature, notes Richard Sutcliffe of The Athletic. Players and coaches are optimistic about what the tournament can grow into, adds Tim Bontemps of ESPN. “I’ve been a part of (the) conversations since they first happened,” said Warriors guard Chris Paul, the former president of the National Basketball Players Association. “I think the in-season tournament has an opportunity to be something big for the league. … As players, as the league and everything, you (are) always trying to continue to grow the game. I think this is a good way.”
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And-Ones: Buzelis, Jenkins, Draft-Rights Players, More

November 3rd, 2023 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Matas Buzelis, a projected top-three pick in the 2024 NBA draft, tells Sam Yip of HoopsHype that there wasn’t a specific former player for the G League Ignite that influenced him to take that path before becoming draft-eligible — he simply thought it would be the best way for him to prepare for the NBA.

“I picked Ignite because at the end of the day you want to be a professional basketball player – that’s everyone’s goal,” Buzelis said. “So, why take a different route like college where you’re not playing NBA rules? You get to play NBA threes, shot clocks, everything. So it’s pretty much like a cheat code, I’d say.”

Buzelis singled out former NBA shooting guard John Jenkins, currently a member of the Ignite, as the teammate that has stood out the most to him early in his G League stint. According to Buzelis, Jenkins taught him to take care of his body by establishing a training routine, which is something he “didn’t really have” before this year.

“He was in the NBA before for like three NBA teams,”  Buzelis said. “He’s like 32 years old and still killing. Taking care of his body and everything. So I take example from him that I can play a long time.”

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

  • Within an interesting story about the rise of multi-team NBA trades in recent years, Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports provides an interesting tidbit on the guidelines governing trades of players’ draft rights. According to Fischer, in order for a draft-rights player to be traded, he must have been selected in one of the nine most recent drafts. In multi-team deals, the player must have been selected in one of last five drafts — or nine, if he earned a spot on the most recent All-EuroLeague team. Luka Mitrovic, the player whose draft rights were traded from the Kings to the Clippers in a deal this week, was picked nine drafts ago.
  • The second tax apron introduced in the NBA’s newest Collective Bargaining Agreement will make roster-building much more challenging for high-salary teams beginning in 2024. However, as Danny Leroux of The Athletic details, many current taxpayers are taking advantage of the transition rules in place during the 2023/24 season to make big moves that won’t be possible starting next offseason.
  • Italian team Olimpia Milano has been in the market for backcourt help, with head coach Ettore Messina acknowledging that Kendrick Nunn and Carlik Jones were among the players with NBA experience on the team’s radar, per Cesare Milanti of Eurohoops. Nunn ended up in Greece while Jones is continuing his career in China, so Milan will have to continue weighing its free agent options.
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