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LAS VEGAS \u2014 In his 2025 Summer League debut Friday, it was obvious that Bulls forward Matas Buzelis<\/b> had added some muscle to his 6-10 frame entering his second season.<\/p>\n
What couldn\u2019t be seen as easily was the confidence he has added in terms of becoming a leader.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s the other jump the Bulls would like to see from him. So far, so good.<\/p>\n
Buzelis was the vocal leader on the bench during timeouts and has tried to inform the Summer League players about the obstacles that await, whether they are fortunate to earn a spot on the Bulls\u2019 roster or have to deal with life in the G League.<\/p>\n
Buzelis played 26 games in the G League before the Bulls selected him in the first round of the NBA Draft in 2024, then spent some practice time and a game with the Windy City Bulls last season.<\/p>\n
So when rookie forward Noa Essengue<\/b> turned in a dismal performance in his Summer League debut against the Raptors, Buzelis gave him a pep talk afterward.<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018You\u2019ve got to have a short memory,\u2019\u2019 Buzelis said he told Essengue during their discussion. \u2018\u2018He\u2019s a great defender. He\u2019s got great defensive instincts. Offensively, he\u2019ll be fine. You can see other guys. [Spurs star Victor<\/b>] Wembanyama<\/b>, it was tough for him in the first game. I didn\u2019t play well [last year], either. He\u2019ll be fine. I don\u2019t think anyone should be stressing about it.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\nBad timing<\/h3>\n
Life for NBA restricted free agents this summer continues to be one gut punch after another. Such has been the case for Bulls guard Josh Giddey<\/b>.<\/p>\n
Because of the penalties in the first and second salary-cap thresholds now smacking teams in the face, players have been unable to involve teams in a bidding war. That\u2019s where the Giddey situation stood Saturday.<\/p>\n
The Sun-Times reported last week that Giddey\u2019s camp still was hoping for a contract akin to the $30 million per year guard Jalen Suggs<\/b> got from the Magic, but the Bulls haven\u2019t gone there. The dialogue between the sides has remained good, but there is still no resolution.<\/p>\n
And rumors the Bulls were interested in a sign-and-trade deal for the Warriors\u2019 Jonathan Kuminga<\/b> have quieted substantially.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Weight and muscle aren’t the only improvements Buzelis has made during the offseason. His actions and words are showing up in leadership, too.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":78809,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-78808","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nba"],"yoast_head":"\n