Matas Buzelis is getting closer to the kind of summer that can reshape a career, and the clock is already ticking toward July 1, 2027. That is the first day he’ll be eligible to negotiate and sign a new NBA contract with the Chicago Bulls, according to Spotrac.
But the real number that will matter isn’t the date. It’s what Buzelis does over the full 2026-27 season, because that’s the body of work the Bulls will use to decide whether he’s worth an extension or headed down a more complicated road toward restricted free agency.
The market around him is already moving. Houston forward Amen Thompson landed a five-year, $208 million contract extension, and Friday brought another major comparison point when his twin brother Ausar Thompson was reported to have agreed to a five-year, $155 million rookie-scale extension, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania.
For Buzelis, those deals are the kind of markers that demand a clear-eyed look at where he stands. He doesn’t often sound like a player short on confidence, but the Thompson contracts are a reminder that his own next payday has to be earned, not assumed.
Ausar Thompson’s extension came on the back of a season built around defense, and that part matters here. He was the league’s steals leader in 2025-26 at 2.0 per game and also made NBA All-Defensive First Team. Offensively, he’s not someone the Pistons lean on in any major way, but his defensive value made him impossible to ignore.
That’s the lesson for Buzelis. He has flashed in his first two seasons, but the production has been uneven on both ends. He’s an average three-point shooter, and while his shot-blocking can jump off the screen, he can still get exposed when he’s pulled into pick-and-roll action and dies on ball screens.
If Buzelis wants to think about his value in the same neighborhood as Ausar Thompson - and certainly not Amen Thompson - he needs a season defined by constant defensive urgency. That means bringing maximum effort every night and making a real run at becoming the NBA Blocks champion in 2026-27.
In Other News...
Bulls May Have A Jalen Smith Decision Worth Watching
The Bulls could end up with a decision worth monitoring if Minnesota starts hunting for frontcourt help. After moving Naz Reid in the LaMelo Ball deal, the Timberwolves have a clearer need for a big who can stretch the floor and rebound behind Rudy Gobert, and Jalen Smith fits that general profile well enough to surface in trade chatter. For Chicago, that puts a useful role player in the middle of an idea that is less about a splash and more about how teams value spacing, size and roster fit when the margins get tight.
One proposed framework would send a wing with real shot-making value to Chicago, along with a future second-round asset, in exchange for Smith. The wrinkle is that Minnesota's roster math is getting harder to ignore, especially with Donte DiVincenzo's injury complicating what the Timberwolves can realistically prioritize. If the Bulls are willing to listen, Smith becomes the sort of movable piece that can shape a bigger deal without ever being the headline. [Read more 🡒]
Bulls Fans Have Reason To Remember Michael Sweetney Today
Michael Sweetney, who spent two seasons with the Bulls after being taken ninth overall by the Knicks in the 2003 NBA Draft, is being remembered by Chicago fans today. Long before he arrived in the Bulls rotation, Sweetney had already built a reputation at Georgetown, and he brought that sturdy interior game to Chicago during the 2005-06 season.
For Bulls fans, his time in town may still feel tied to one especially productive three-game stretch on the teams annual road trip, when he gave the roster a useful inside presence. It was not a long stay in Chicago, but it was the kind of brief run that tends to stick with a fan base, especially when a players career and life leave behind a broader sense of loss. [Read more 🡒]
Tyler Herro Could Force A Bulls Debate Fans Didnt Expect
Tyler Herros name has started to sound like the kind of hypothetical that can pull a front office in two directions at once. For Chicago, the appeal is obvious enough: a guard who can score and help create for others could slide into a roster that has pieces built to work around that kind of shot-making, and his presence would immediately sharpen the conversation about what this team really needs next.
Still, the Bulls would not be weighing a simple basketball fit. Any serious move in Herros direction would come with questions about how much value they want to attach to a player who draws defensive attention of his own, and how committed they would be to the price of keeping him around if the deal ever got that far. It is the kind of debate that can reshape a teams priorities before it ever reaches the trade table. [Read more 🡒]