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Chicago Bulls rookie first-round pick Matas Buzelis was the No. 11 overall pick of the 2024 draft.
However, Bleacher Report’s Jonathan Wasserman ranked the 6-foot-10 forward No. 2 on his preseason big board in July 2023.
Buzelis sat down for an interview with NBC Sports Chicago’s K.C. Johnson, who asked the rookie if he had spent any time thinking about the slide and whether or not he felt motivated by the dramatic drop in his stock.
“No, I know what kind of player I am,” Buzelis told Johnson on the “Bulls Talk Podcast” on July 11. “I work extremely hard. I don’t think anybody in the draft works harder than me. So, I mean, it doesn’t matter right now. It’s zero to zero. Doesn’t matter what you get picked, you’re going to go out there and play against them.
“Just going to work even harder. Prove everybody wrong.”
Buzelis averaged 14.3 points, 6.9 rebounds, 2.1 blocks, and 1.9 assists while logging six double-doubles across 26 appearances with the G League Ignite in 2023-24.
The Chicago native shot 27.3% from beyond the arc, which was below expectation.
“It was a big step going from high school to G League,” Buzelis said. “I think the main thing was that it was the conditioning and the physicality of the game, and just being stronger also. Being in the weight room, building those legs to have the endurance during the game. I think that was the main thing for me. But I’m really not worried about that, honestly. I work hard. I know I can shoot the ball.”
Matas Buzelis Confirms Pre-Season Evaluation
Buzelis’ comments confirm Wasserman’s evaluation from the preseason. He noted the youngster’s lack of physicality would be exposed in what Buzelis called a “grown man’s league.”
“A 6’10” wing with a shoot-dribble-pass skill set, Matas Buzelis owns a valued archetype with the type of versatility that screams high floor and high ceiling,” Wasserman wrote in July 2023. “Buzelis isn’t the most physical, and G Leaguers figure to expose his lack of strength at both ends of the floor.”
Buzelis confirmed that was going to be a focus for him over the remainder of the offseason.
His stock still took a hit. He slid in Wasserman’s rankings just as he did in the actual draft, dropping four spots from Wasserman’s preseason evaluation to No. 6 in the pre-draft combine iteration of the big board.
“Matas Buzelis’ final highlight tape showed enticing flashes of shotmaking diversity, athletic finishing and defensive playmaking. The lowlights showed a player who wasn’t reliable from three, struggled to create with a level of sharpness and had trouble finishing after contact,” Wasserman wrote on May 9.
“The Franz Wagner comparisons from earlier in the season sound farfetched. But he should be a lesser version based on his measurements and scoring versatility.”
The Orlando Magic selected Wagner with the No. 8 overall pick in the 2021 draft, which they received from the Bulls in the Nikola Vucevic trade. Wagner was an All-Rookie team selection in 2021-22 and has developed into one of the rising offensive talents in the NBA.
Buzelis is looking to have a two-way impact.
“I already had instincts on defense,” Buzelis told Johnson. “But it was mainly just watching film for me and seeing what position I have to be in and how far I got to be from the paint to go block a shot, and how different guys finish in the paint. But it’s just – I already had the instincts, and the length. Of course, the athleticism. But it’s just about watching the film and seeing how you can time them, how you can block the shot.
“I know my rookie year I’m not going to have any plays around for me, so I have to go like go out there and play defense and be an energy guy and make open shots.”
Mata Buzelis’ Challenged No. 1 Pick Zaccharie Risacher
Buzelis insisted to Johnson that his reputation as a trash talker on the court was true, but that he was not typically the instigator. He did, however, challenge No. 1 overall pick Zaccharie Risacher to a game of 1-on-1 before the draft.
“Of course, I want to see him one-on-one. He just doesn’t want to do that with me. His agent will not do that with me, and I know he won’t. It’s a business decision,” Buzelis told BasketNews’ Donatas Urbonas in an interview published on March 26. “My advantage is that I have everything over him.”
Buzelis tried to tone down the nature of those comments, but he did not back down from his assertion of being a superior player.
“I think everybody got it twisted once I said it,” Buzelis told The Athletic’s Shams Charania in a sitdown with “Stadium” on June 25. “I respect Zacch as a player, of course. He’s a great player. He just doesn’t wanna see me like that. I’m just gonna keep it real with everybody. He doesn’t wanna see me, and I’m gonna stand on that. The offer still stands, for sure. And I’m waiting on a response.”
The Bulls and Atlanta Hawks, who selected Risacher No. 1, will meet in summer league play on July 19.
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