LOS ANGELES \u2014 The G League came easy for Bulls rookie Matas Buzelis. He didn\u2019t always have the explosive numbers or the consistency, but he wasn\u2019t treading water by any means.<\/p>\n
Summer League came easy for Buzelis. He not only had the numbers and the splash plays, but he caught the eyes of a lot of onlookers who labeled him one of the standouts in Las Vegas.<\/p>\n
So is Buzelis\u2019 inconsistent rookie season with the Bulls weighing on him? The losing definitely is, but Buzelis knew his transition to the NBA wasn\u2019t going to be easy.<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018I knew it was going to be a tough season,\u2019\u2019 Buzelis said before the Bulls ended their five-game losing streak with a 112-99 victory Monday against the Clippers. \u2018\u2018Once you walk into this league with that mentality that you know it\u2019s going to be tough, you don\u2019t have to be surprised once the toughness arrives or the struggles start. But I think my season is going well. One thing about me is I just want to win games. I want to be a winner.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
The Bulls share that view. Executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas would like nothing more than to be in charge of the Bulls\u2019 return to dominance.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not even close right now, however.<\/p>\n
And what should have Karnisovas and the rest of the front office a bit nervous is that it isn\u2019t as though there\u2019s a bright future showing itself this season, either.<\/p>\n
The Bulls have eight players in their rotation 24 years old or younger. Coby White is the best of that crew, but he is also in the middle of a very tradable contract he has outplayed and is a logical piece to be dealt by next season.<\/p>\n
Buzelis (20), Patrick Williams (23), Josh Giddey (22), Dalen Terry (22), Julian Phillips (21), Talen Horton-Tucker (24) and Jalen Smith (24) are the other players among the 24-and-younger set.<\/p>\n
Smith has been solid as a reserve, but that might be his ceiling. Coach Billy Donovan hasn\u2019t even allowed Williams and Giddey to close out tight games lately, and Phillips and Terry have averaged 12.3 and 10.4 minutes in January, respectively.<\/p>\n
Horton-Tucker has had some flashes off the bench but will be a free agent after the season and has received no real sign of a commitment from the Bulls.<\/p>\n
So much for having young pillars to build around.<\/p>\n
If there\u2019s one player who can start changing the narrative, it\u2019s Buzelis. There\u2019s something there underneath all his rawness.<\/p>\n
Buzelis not only leads the Bulls in blocks per game, despite averaging less than 13 minutes a game, but he also is looking to bring some flash back to the franchise by agreeing to participate in the dunk contest during All-Star Weekend next month.<\/p>\n
Still, there\u2019s obviously a lot of work to be done, as Donovan pointed out.<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018The one thing is, he has earned his minutes, which has been a positive,\u2019\u2019 Donovan said. \u2018\u2018He has terrific upside and ability and talent. But he\u2019s young.<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018It\u2019s kind of what we were talking about with [Williams]. All these guys get into a situation where when they come into the league at an extremely young age, there\u2019s a pass given on, \u2018They\u2019re young. They have to learn.\u2019 And rightfully so. But after a period of time, you have to be able to do this. And with Matas, [it\u2019s] the consistency part from him of understanding the league, understanding personnel, understanding who he\u2019s guarding.<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018I\u2019ve been really encouraged with the way he has responded, and I do think he\u2019ll continue to improve. He\u2019s a worker and gets in there and competes. But as a young guy, he has to learn.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Bulls have eight players 24 years old or younger in their rotation. After Coby White, however, there are more question marks than sure things. The hope is that Buzelis can start changing that.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":27815,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27814","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nba"],"yoast_head":"\n