Matas Buzelis didn’t need a podium or a postgame mic to say something revealing. A conversation on Lonzo Ball’s Ball in the Family Podcast with Lonzo & Gelo Ball was enough to show how the Bulls forward is processing both his own game and the business side of the NBA.
Buzelis opened up about the turbulence around Chicago’s overhaul, from the 2026 NBA trade deadline to the firing of Bulls front office principals Arturas Karnisovas and Marc Eversley, and then the resignation of former Bulls head coach Billy Donovan. His takeaway was blunt: "I just found out about the business side of basketball. It's a lot different."
Even with all that change, Buzelis still sounded energized about what comes next for the 2026-27 Bulls season.
Ball, meanwhile, was direct about what he saw from Donovan’s handling of Buzelis. He said the forward was held back under the previous coach’s approach: "M [Buzelis] got game, bro.
But like he was put, when I was over there. He was on a leash, unfortunately."
The exchange made one thing clear: Buzelis is entering this next phase with a sharper sense of how the league works and what he wants from his own development.
That came through again when he talked about his offseason plans. Buzelis said he wants to work out with Portland Trail Blazers forward Deni Avdija, and that he’s already in contact with him. He also showed real self-awareness by saying he thinks he shoots too many three-pointers and wants to get to the rim more, in the same style as Avdija.
That should be welcome news for Bulls head coach Tiago Splitter, who also has Avdija’s former coach in his own locker room now.
Buzelis didn’t stop there. He also explained that his time with the Lithuanian men’s national basketball team was about speeding up his decision-making. Put all of that together, and the picture is pretty clear: a more decisive, downhill Buzelis could become a dangerous weapon in the NBA.
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Chicagos bigger play may be to stay patient and keep a spot available for the right trade rather than force another signing now. The idea is simple enough: preserve room to take on a contract other teams want to move, then turn that into future draft capital when the right deal surfaces, whether it comes before the deadline or later in the season. [Read more 🡒]