2024 NBA Draft - Chicago Bulls select Matas Buzelis with the 11th pick

[Mindcrime]

Wow, he was my top prospect in the WHOLE draft based on pure potential and he just fell to us at 11?

Love it!

[UcanUwill]

The way Matas runs the floor, I was thinking of another guy who he reminds me of, who was a top Euro prospect but ended up being a bust. Matas reminds me of Jan Vesely. I think Vesely is Matas worst-case scenario. Vesely is actually a top-flight player in Europe playing for Barcelona. I think Vesely just never able to transition into US culture. It doesn't help that he went to that dysfunctional toxic young Washington Wizards team lead by rookie John Wall, Nick Young, Andray Blatche.

Vesely offensive game is more one dimensional than Matas. But both are high flyers and good weak side defender. Vesely ends up playing near the post in Europe. But he can't play center in the NBA. And he doesn't have the necessary skills to excel as NBA PF. In contrary, I think Matas is a much better prospect and much better talent fit to play PF in the NBA.

As Euroleague fan, I was pretty high on Vesely. But few things went wrong with him I think. For years, I thought Washington just screwed him over. Who was Jan Vesely in Belgrade? He was lean SF, raw on skill but what he had was perimeter defense, he was elite perimeter defender, 6'11 guy who you can put on any 6'4 guard and just erase him from the game. But he was weak, he couldn't play Power forward at all in Europe, he was killed. Granted it was different times, 2010 is recent, but not so much in basketball anymore.

And what Wahsington did, they draft him, put him in weight room and just say you will be a center now... And maybe I am very wrong, seeing it now where game has evolved, but initially, I thought the development was stupid as hell. Jan was pretty terrible shooter, but he was not non existent shooter, he would shoot. After being drafted he would just abandon his shot completely, he will be told to gain a lot of mass, forget he is perimeter defender, etc.

And Maybe Jan had no chance either way, but he was a guy who does not really rebound, does not protect the rim and he doesnt shoot or score in post or anything. Making him a center was just a complete waste of time. I still believe you draft this 6'11 lean perimeter defender, make him work on corner and catch and shoot 3s, and you have more athletic Shane Battier 2.0. Jan was fast, he was running the floor, he was locking guys down at perimeter and he showed some semblance of shooting and ball handling, something he will absolutely abandon after being drafted.

So, for years this was just my take, you couldn't do a worse job at developing a guy. Ignore what hes good at and just put him in position he sucks.

That said, there was another huge reason why he failed, and it was clearly confidence issue. He was not up for the moment there in the NBA at all, and I would think, guy spending teenage years playing for damn Partizan, would develop a thick skin, but naw, not really. I still remember very well watching his first NBA game, and from first glance he looked suspect, he was not confident, and I remember he got fouled and sent to the line. And I was fascinated to see what will happen, because I could tell he was nervous, but man, he took his first FT in his NBA career, and he airballed it so bad, I bet clips are on youtube, it was the most scared I have ever seen the player to take a FT shot.

So, at least in that regard, Matas seems different, he is very confident. He is also American and he is better prepped for this most likely. I mean, I want to say he is Lithuanian, but he was born and lived all his life in Chicago, he is as American as they come.

[KissedByaRose1]

I really like AK's last two moves buy my gosh he comes off as a goof. Mentioning Giddey's 11 career triple doubles when talking about his upside makes him sound like a high schooler. He says zero interesting things about his philosophy in team building and it sounds like he's totally winging it. I hope things work out but I really want him fired and replaced with competent leadership ASAP.

[Saint_Killa]

Lithuanian here.. Protect and cherish this kid, hopefully, he can get into rotation quickly.

[SimonFish]

Read on Twitter

has this been posted?

Can they not do this? Buzelis isn't a bad draft pick but if he doesn't pan out, it can be our own "Stauskas" video (who is also Lithuanian...).

[Sakkreth]

Watch on YouTube

Great pick. Might be the best move of the AKME era. A 3rd year player but has some serious potential. He is athletic and aggressive and has some dog in him.

Love this mixtape. 6'10 and he handles the ball really well. Change of direction, advanced dribble moves, movement in tight spaces. Really need to improve that shot but his feel has me excited.

What surprised me is how bouncey he is. Between this and the workout videos, he is regularly getting his head near rim level on dunks.

I think the concerns about his shot are overblown. He has nice form. He doesn't have a high or fast release so he isn't going to lead the league in 3 pointers but I think he could quickly get to the point where teams don't just ignore him behind the line (cough Vucevic cough).

Buzelis hismelf said that his bad % from 3 with Ignite was due to poor conditioning, had to adjust to up and down tempo. Idk if it's good or bad, but sounds fixable.

[RSP83]

Love this mixtape. 6'10 and he handles the ball really well. Change of direction, advanced dribble moves, movement in tight spaces. Really need to improve that shot but his feel has me excited.

What surprised me is how bouncey he is. Between this and the workout videos, he is regularly getting his head near rim level on dunks.

I think the concerns about his shot are overblown. He has nice form. He doesn't have a high or fast release so he isn't going to lead the league in 3 pointers but I think he could quickly get to the point where teams don't just ignore him behind the line (cough Vucevic cough).

Buzelis hismelf said that his bad % from 3 with Ignite was due to poor conditioning, had to adjust to up and down tempo. Idk if it's good or bad, but sounds fixable.

We have 2 Lithuanians.. one that gets me excited about Bulls future, another one that gets me worried about Bulls future.

[Sakkreth]

What surprised me is how bouncey he is. Between this and the workout videos, he is regularly getting his head near rim level on dunks.

I think the concerns about his shot are overblown. He has nice form. He doesn't have a high or fast release so he isn't going to lead the league in 3 pointers but I think he could quickly get to the point where teams don't just ignore him behind the line (cough Vucevic cough).

Buzelis hismelf said that his bad % from 3 with Ignite was due to poor conditioning, had to adjust to up and down tempo. Idk if it's good or bad, but sounds fixable.

We have 2 Lithuanians.. one that gets me excited about Bulls future, another one that gets me worried about Bulls future.

Lithuanian with some Chicago connection myself and I completely get you

[Axolotl]

If I squint, I can see this kid becoming really good. And I don't even have to squint all that hard.

[kulaz3000]

The shot blocking stands out a lot. And it's not that he is athletic, he moves his feet, he doesn't just jump without purpose, he has exceptional timing and anticipates when he needs to elevate and puts his body in the right position for the block attempt. It's actually quite impressive and I think it's going to translate really well.

He definitely needs to get strong though, that's without question, but not so much so that he loses his quickness and agility, because for his size, he is quite a fluid athlete and moves directions quite seamlessly and again, he knows how to position his body, and even when he gets beat, he usually doesn't give up on the play and tries his best to recover.

He will likely get abused defensively the first few season, and he grows into his body, but he is going to get more than his fair share of block shots both on his man, and also as a help defender. I'm really curious as to see what type of player he turns out to be, because from highlights he can almost do it all, a jack of all trades a master of none type.

Top priority needs to be strength and a consistent jump shot. And then followed by better handles, and we could have someone special, but right now he is a project but a compelling one with lots of potential and plenty of glimpses of what he could be.

[CROBulls]

The shot blocking stands out a lot. And it's not that he is athletic, he moves his feet, he doesn't just jump without purpose, he has exceptional timing and anticipates when he needs to elevate and puts his body in the right position for the block attempt. It's actually quite impressive and I think it's going to translate really well.

He definitely needs to get strong though, that's without question, but not so much so that he loses his quickness and agility, because for his size, he is quite a fluid athlete and moves directions quite seamlessly and again, he knows how to position his body, and even when he gets beat, he usually doesn't give up on the play and tries his best to recover.

He will likely get abused defensively the first few season, and he grows into his body, but he is going to get more than his fair share of block shots both on his man, and also as a help defender. I'm really curious as to see what type of player he turns out to be, because from highlights he can almost do it all, a jack of all trades a master of none type.

Top priority needs to be strength and a consistent jump shot. And then followed by better handles, and we could have someone special, but right now he is a project but a compelling one with lots of potential and plenty of glimpses of what he could be.

He is faster and more agile than Patrick Williams or Markkanen. I have no issue with him adding size and muscles on his frame. It's only gonna help him be better athlete. He cuts pretty well without ball or with ball. You can see on his highlights and way he plays that he can beat his man with no issues.

[Ccwatercraft]

Believe it's already been posted but lmao. Kid is a little psycho competitively. This story will pick up sometime during the season.

Read on Twitter

Actually like this. Shows his competitiveness!

Great! A new, young player on the team talking smack and wanting competition. You can't just have nice guys or "I'm just here to do my job" type of players.

We have that in Patrick Williams his offense puts me to sleep, no thanks

[step]

AK seemed quite pleased that he fell to us... perhaps this can serve as a wake up call to actually value picks. Who knows come draft time what happens!

[kulaz3000]

After watching so many Matas videos on Youtube, this podcast with the Lakers head coach popped up.

Watch on YouTube

[suursahuri]

Love the pick. Great player type to have, I like what I see on tape and he's young with room to grow. We'll see in 3-4 years where his ceiling is about to set.

[Jstock12]

I hope Matas can surpass Darius Songaila and Martynas Andriuškevičius to claim the number one spot in the Chicago Bulls Lithuanian top3.

[Ice Man]

Lithuanian with some Chicago connection myself and I completely get you

My wife is Chicago Lithuanian, so we are up for this pick! (By the way, Vilnius is one of the most underrated tourist destinations around. Get there before the Americans discover it.)

[kulaz3000]

Watch on YouTube

[kulaz3000]

Watch on YouTube

[LuDux1]

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