Chicago Bulls Summer League Preview! Matas Buzelis and Co take on Las Vegas | CHGO Bulls Podcast
[Music] what’s going on Bulls Nation welcome in to the Cho Bulls podcast presented by Kors light make the most out of the times you to choose to chill choose corite get it delivered straight to your North instacart kite.com basketball celebrate responsibly and shout out to our friends at Sunnyside on a Sunnyside summer Thursday don’t forget that promo code hgo at Sunnys side. shop what’s going on bulls Nation I’m pack plls pek joined by my guys big day B bawl Sports and will the goat goly will _ goly or Pal and producer the one and only Joyce patis on the controls at Joyce pathas gentlemen this time tomorrow we will be in Sunny Las Vegas for the beginning of NBA Summer League 2024 that is what we will be talking about today who are we looking for obviously buis sonogo fresh off a new contract some other hot names that we will highlight coming in to the summer league action I’m excited who else is excited Big Dave how we do de with py I’m chill right now I don’t have an excitement yet like I’m kind of chill I’mma get there though like when I start actually I think it’s because I know the task I have at hand of uh packing and and getting a bunch of [ __ ] together because I still got stuff I got to get together I got still got a lot of things I got to do so yeah that’s why I’m chilling right now so when that starts actually happening and I exip the last bag and I put on my hat and I’m ready to go then it’ll hit me and then I’ll be ready but I’m excited I am excited it hit me when I just checked in for my flight I’m ready to go let’s do this see I haven’t even done that I haven’t even done that are you ready I’m pushing I don’t even know where will just went when I brought myself in here I don’t push will out of the screen but I have to say sorry will I have to say I watched on YouTube today the Bulls like meet the rookie with Matas I am obsessed I am obsessed I cannot wait to interact with him he seems like an amazing human and a great energetic character I cannot wait I think he’s going to be just a fun guy to interact with and have around and I’m really excited to see how he meshes with this Bulls team ready for Vegas Joey out I haven’t seen Joey in like two weeks and he comes in and just kicks me right off the stream Fame will do that brother Fame will do that great to see you Joe Joey Joey got some much deserved and much needed time off last week very true he’s he’s about to be working his uh his pretty little tail off when we’re out in Vegas together can’t wait for it uh before we dive is this is this your gonna be your first uh credential not only sorry again well knock out come on first ever credential no it’s actually uh yeah will be my first credential for a real game that’s going on it will also be my first time in Vegas so to first for me [Music] it’s gonna be a good time oh my god oh m is out to corrupt you no doubt watch out Vegas me and young Joseph about to tear [ __ ] up oh my God I’m so excited uh disfunctional the comments you said Joey came in like a wreck and ball that’s right we’re about to come into Vegas like a wreck and ball uh before we dive into the summer league preview uh and we will start with what we’re expecting to see from Modis bazas uh Big Dave you mentioned your packing and you mentioned hats I’m curious as as your fellow hat lover how many hats are you bringing to Vegas because I’m trying to keep it to a reasonable number and I I I I already started packing last night I feel like I might want to sneak in one or two more I never go over two I only pack two hats yeah always only pack two hats because I don’t want to get I don’t on top of the one you’re wearing no no no just the one I have and then another one if I feel like carrying it so no I don’t I don’t carry a ton of hats when I go out of town I don’t have something to Carri them in so it’s a waste of time to just carry multiple hats for me it’s a waste of that time got a good uh wreck from dreads in the comments go to guy fet’s restaurant on the Strip they have good burgers I think we went to Gordon Ramsay last year yes yes but if you guys have any good Vegas food recommendations we are accepting all of them so put them in the comments please all of said wearing hat backup hat throwing hat yeah that’s why I’m packing more I always I always see more hats uh yeah guy Fier I feel like the first time the dmvr crew came out Chicago like when they were coming to help us launch and talk to like you know the ground floor Cho people that shout out to our buddy Eric from dmvr nuggets he said the only bad meal he had in his first like weekl long Chicago visit was a guy Fier Chicago join so I was like all the delicious food that Chicago has to offer you go to guy Ferry’s restaurant really yeah yeah good point because it’s Vegas that’s where Guy Fieri excels with with food yeah shout out Gordon ramsy he did his thing too that he did uh we are all excited to watch modest bazis do his thing in a Bulls jersey out in Vegas the Bulls first game on Saturday they’ve got an actual Saturday Sunday back to back to kick things off we’ll all be there watching both I’m curious what you guys are expecting as far as his role on this team you know we’ve only seen Snippets that the Bulls have shared on their official team social pages from a couple of practices here in Chicago before they head out there so there you know there’s really no way to tell what exactly Billy Donovan the thc’s game plan is coming into this but I feel like Bulls fans are hoping that buellis is a big part of it right Dave yeah uh no the fans think that but I think the coaching staff thinks that as well like it’s your number one pick uh it’s a big pick for you because it’s a guy that you didn’t even think was going to be there when you were going to draft him it’s a guy that was top five uh predicted and he ended up at 11 so yeah everybody wants to see him there’s a reason he’s the one being interviewed on so many things um we saw him on the Casey Johnson interviews was hilarious if y’all know the part I’m talking about hilarious um but it was great yes yes will but it was great and he’s been on so many different podcasts now already um you know shout shout out and flex to us for having you know one of his former coaches on the show also yesterday he The Talk of the Town so he’s the one everybody wants to see and he’s the one we’re gonna see and I hope we get to see a whole lot of him and I expect to see a whole lot of him will yeah and they’ve been practicing all week here at The Advocate Center um I think like maybe two I can’t remember it’s last year or two years ago that we were able to have access um for some of these practices that was not the cas this year so haven’t had a chance to talk with Billy Donovan III have not had a chance to talk with Maus yet but um I expect him to have the ball in his hands I mean when you think about the experience that he had in the G League last year along with like Adama sonogo Henry Dr and Andrew Funk who are obviously the the three two-way guys for the Bulls at the end of the season he’s got the most experience of anybody on this roster he had the ball in his hands a bunch at the g- league level um you know one of the exciting things about his skill set is he is kind of a dribble pass shoot guy in theory um there was a lot of turnovers last year you know he didn’t necessarily put on display like incredible passing and I was the shot was what it was but that’s what you’re kind of hoping to develop him into because the tools are there and so that’s what I want to see from him I want to see the ball in his hands I want to see him running some pick and roll I want to see him getting out in transition I want to see him blocking shots I want to see him not be afraid to take and make open threes when they’re available to him I think his kind of willingness to get shots up from Beyond The Arc is going to be a big key I know he’s a confident guy I know you know Bren Proctor we talked about yester who we talked to yesterday has talked about his confidence in his in Mod’s jump shot like let’s see it let’s see him make some threes he should have the experience to set him up for success in this setting and I think you know when he was talking with Casey he kind of said like the g-league level is is pro basketball like this should prepare him I think to dominate at this level I think that experience will really help him and I’m hoping to see him just put up a lot of big numbers and and look really good in doing so the other thing I’m curious about is how he will look physicality wise strengthwise uh against this summer league level of competition Dave you mentioned we were chatting with his Sunrise Academy coach Braden Proctor on yesterday’s show shout out to him thanks again and go check out that show from yesterday if you haven’t uh seen it yet some great insights from him when I asked him about you know what what needs to happen next for for Modis to to Really build out his NBA potential the first thing he said was adding some muscle to that frame of his and I think Bulls fans are all really stoked to to add a guy with modest size and length to this very short guard heavy roster that we’ve been you know dealing with over the past few seasons but you know how how in need of adding muscle will he look against summer league guys many of whom are also upand comers recently drafted guys who are first second year players who might not have that you know NBA body and build quite yet like I remember noticing a stark difference from Summer League year one Dal Terry to Summer League year 2 dalen Terry and and what his frame looked like and how he was able to use his body more successfully the second time around yeah it’s all about that that first time getting everything on the floor and out of the way and I don’t know how you guys judge it when you’re watching these guys play for the first time in summer league but for me I don’t really have any kind of judgment for them I want them to miss all the shots I want them to you know get all the turn up like I want to see all of those things because I’m looking for other specific basketball stuff to see if they can do it and if they can do that then I’m excited about it then I’m like okay well now it’d be cool if you drop 25 points to get two rebounds sure that’d be fun uh to see you do that but with Mattis I I just really expect him to come out firing like I don’t expect him uh well you mentioned you know just not being tentative taking that you know three-point shot I expect him to be pulling you know when he pull when he pulls up we might see a half court Steph Curry shot from him that that’s the confidence I expect uh coming out there from him so those are that’s the kind of thing I’m kind of looking at when I when I want to see him play but yeah there’ll definitely I want it to be a stark difference from your first time to your second I don’t want to see the same thing Patrick Williams was like that we saw a little bit of growth in him in his second time out there um definitely a growth in IO obviously uh when he after his first year there dalen Terry came in uh stronger and more ready to actually shoot he wasn’t hitting him but he was more ready to actually shoot the ball I expect to see in Julian Phillips and that’s the guy I don’t well that’s the guy I don’t want to be tentative and taking those three-point shots in this summer league I want to see him put up a bunch of uh three-point shots as well uh because he’s looking real springy from what the stuff I saw from him in practice he’s looking real springy and kind of that lean muscle uh kind of coming in on him reminded me of Derek Jones Jr’s body frame when I saw him in practice but I’m yeah I look for little tiny things uh when it’s your first time out there to know if you can be a contributor or not and then I want to see all the you know cake and ice cream of the points rebounds assists and stuff like that yeah I want to see how he adjusts to like the pace of play or if there will even need to be an adjustment period because he has that g-league experience like I guess you know playing against other NBA players at the g-league level I think you know it’s not obviously the same as the NBA level it’s not you you know the like Dal Terry was putting up huge numbers in the G League I think that kind of speaks for itself in terms of like what caliber a play that is and no no shade at dalen like he was really good at that level but that’s just you know guys can put up big numbers there and so I want to see how he adjusts to that is he really used to that physicality and that pace of play and that is gonna allow him to you know come into summer league with his best foot forward and really you know take over this team and like be the primary guy in this team or is there going to be an adjustment period where he does look like he is you know I mean they they played against some NBA level players but you know he’s going to be going up against a lot more guys a lot more physicality and I think just better players um more better players at this point so I’m just curious to see how he adjusts if there is an adjustment period I think you know he is very much a project I think he’s G to take a while to like reach his full potential but I still think that there are some interesting enough tools and like you see him handle the ball you see him get into his step back you see him you know get into the middle of the paint and rise up the transition stuff like there’s just I think a lot of tools there that can be really interesting at this level because he’s already played at this level and he’s already played against these kinds of players before and so I want to see him really like use that momentum that he should have gotten from his g- League experience to to take that with him into summer league like that’s the advantage I think you gain from playing in the g-league as a you know as a pro before you enter the NBA and and I want to see him like I want to see how much he was able to take from that Robert in the comments saying since M has played Pros uh in the g- league he’s used the physicality and speed of the game I expect him to shine kind of echoing your point there will uh I love this comment from Jared Blakeley who said modus will be an Iron Man in the league could be the guy if Larry Bird and lalang had a baby it would be Modis future Bulls glue guy I just love the thought of like lual dang and Larry Bird being in a loving relationship where they procreate I like hey if it if it spawns a player like M Baza and he’s in a bull Jersey that’s great uh still plenty to get to previewing bull summer league action want to touch on so go want to touch on Julian Phillips what’s his status after the season ending injury we’ll get to all of that and some potential uh deep uh deep roster surprises for Bulls summer league coming up next but first right now I 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you need to hire check them out and listeners of this show will get a $75 sponsor job credit to get your jobs more visibility and d.com allity just go to indie.com All City right now and support our show by saying you heard about indeed on chgo bulls indeed.com allity terms and conditions apply need to hire you need indeed indeed pip cheerio T and crumpets the bears cgo bears are going to London fogy old London Town and you can join us and the only way to travel is true fan travel your passport to the World of Sports over 8 th000 fans have traveled on over 145 trips don’t just watch the game ladies and gentlemen live it we are headed across the pond it’s an amazing package what does it include well I will tell you my le it includes F to London for five-star hotel accommodations close to all the action welcome event held at our favorite London pub private you heard what I said private boat cruise on the river Tims allinclusive t gate party close to the stadium upper level ticket to the Bears game transportation that means airport transfer to and from the game onsite trip coordination breakfast at the hotel every single morning and a meet and greet with the chg team that mean you get to hang out with brags and everybody else K hog all those cool people it would be a great time head to Trant travel.com to make your deposit and secure your spot you beautiful chops Cheerio my God I don’t know I don’t know if that’s better or not quite as good as the jamyra Jackson from the manscape T fair that is very fair uh there’s a lot there are a lot of Jamaicans in in London as well so I might pull that out too you never know just Joe in the comments said as a British man 10 out of 10 on the accent Dave I salute you sir wow appreciate it that is that’s very kind that is don’t hate that don’t hate I’m not I’m not hating I’m not hating I’m just saying that that was a very kind grade on that accent I know no you ain’t fooling me that snob can’t sit and rest in you sir it’s got to come out I understand that St hating though pip my God uh you know what I am not hating on is the idea of watching Adam sonogo just bowling ball his way around a summer league court again this summer uh as we did last year um uh with when he was with the summer league Bulls uh of course the uh the infamous 20 and 20 game down the stretch of the Bulls regular season against the Washington Wizards uh which was by the way the only other Bulls rookie to have a 20-20 game Charles Oakley way back in the day until soogo the only other rookie to have a 2020 game last season woman Yama hey Elite company for soogo the Bulls did officially what do you guys think is the what do you guys think is like the more what goes down in Bulls lore you know as a more impressive feat the 2020 sonogo game or the 35o Patrick Williams game against the Timberwolves in 2021 oh soogo I mean they’re they’re they both lose to Denzel Valentine’s performance in the summer league championship game obviously well it’s not even a question I mean come on I don’t I don’t think anybody got a trophy or a banner for the 20 and 20 game or Pat Williams 35 just saying just saying uh so the Bulls did uh make an official press release announcing the contract signing for Adam sonogo he will return this season on a two-way contract uh figures specific Figures were not disclosed on what uh sonogo was looking at money wise on that deal but he will come back and play again for the summer league Bulls he had nine appearances for the actual bull Squad this past season um and when he wasn’t doing that he was balling out for Wendy City he actually made third Team all NBA for the G League this past season which I either didn’t know or forgot when I went back to look at what he did uh averaged 22 points a game 12.7 boards 1.7 assists and 1.1 block in his 28 starts for the windy city Bulls second among all g-league players in rebounds per game second in total rebounds tied for sixth across the entire g- league in total points scored last season and the only g-league player to register 500 or more points and 300 or more rebounds the dude put up numbers and so for those Bulls fans last season when the Bulls front Court was doing this or that uh or or just because they were looking at what sonoga was doing with the windy city Bulls there were some Bulls fans screaming play soogo give him a shot The Season’s kind of circling the train anyway what’s the harm so big Dave what are you looking for to see from soogo uh in Vegas next week that’s honestly that’s a good question because I could say I want to see him dominate but I don’t know what that would really prove um just to see him show out and Destroy in summer league and I’ve seen you show out and Destroy in the G league so I don’t honestly I don’t know what that would prove I think I just want him to look like you’re supposed to on this team and I think that’s the best way I can say it um look like a guy who I’m like yeah I want to put you in not just a dude who I’m like I just want you in a jersey I just want you in the warmup I just want you as the backup to the backup no I want you to look like a guy who I’m like you know what get in the game we need your skill set we need what you do to help us get this Victory uh today so I don’t think it’s going to be in the starting position um even if it’s not Vu I think Jaylen will be that guy honestly uh if they’re going to go with a center but there is room there at the center position or will be at the center position for him so yeah I just want him to go out there and look like he belongs on the floor and he belongs on a NBA team man because I’ve seen him dominate in just dwarf Matt we saw the Battle of of him and uh Jin Zebo out there where the guys just as my man Big E put it just big meaty men slapping meat like them dudes were out there going at it you could hear it and how physical it was uh with him so we know his physicality so I just want him to look like he truly belongs and not just like a g Le summer league guy I want him to look like a NBA Pro and I think he can do it yeah and I think the way he gets to that level is by like executing the scheme defensively I know he can like gobble up a ton of rebounds he’s got soft touch he can put it back up um like the 2020 game I think got a lot of attention because of the like big box score number and that was impressive but like to me I think being a big rebounding Center that’s not like a super valuable archetype in the NBA at this point if if that’s part of who you are and you do a lot of other stuff really well too that’s great but that’s the stuff that I want to see right now I mean Adama played nine games with the Bulls last year recorded one steal zero blocks I want to see him try to alter some shots I want to see him stay in front of guys he was better at that at the g- league level he had 21 blocks and 24 steals in 16 games so that’s like that’s good production I want to see more of that I think those are kind of indicators of how well you understand the game how well you move your feet and stay in front of guys how well you disrupt passes um I want to see him just like keep guards in front of him or recover and block shots I want to see him understand like where the help is supposed to come from how to clog up the paint on the defensive end because again I think you know the the numbers are great and that is fun especially on like a young team you want to have young guys that can put up big numbers and you can root for them that’s great but like if you want to stick around in the NBA you got to be a really smart player especially as someone who’s not you know Above the Rim kind of altering shots like I I want to see him learn where to be on the court at all times and I think you know nine you know appearances of of NBA games barely playing any minutes and eight of them you know playing in the g- league it’s going to take some time but I want to see the progress built on last year at the Summer League last year in the g- league and then obviously those minutes at the NBA level can he really get to a point where he is you know executing and understanding a system defensively well where well where do you have soo’s IQ basketball IQ at because obviously it takes some good IQ you know to just get out there and get those rebounds things like that but all the things you mentioned are like IQ things so that’s why I’m asking you the question where do you have as IQ at yeah I think I just don’t know at this point because we just haven’t seen enough of him um and that’s that’s kind of what I want to see because I think like you know Dave you like the phase like one track minded It’s I think easier for bigger guys especially like centers to really prioritize just like crashing the glass offensive offensively and defensively getting the rebound back out shooters or getting out in transition whatever it may be that’s like a good skill to have and he’s he’s proven that he can do that at a high level so I want to just see like can he start to think the game at a higher level and I just want to see him in action at this level be able to do that because I don’t know the answer to that yet uh dysfunctional in the comments saying soogo and Jaylen Smith twin towers lineup question mark uh you know we we did see Billy go to the vuin Drummond lineup from time to time last season to let’s say varying uh results depending on the opponents uh and that’s the other uh thing that I’m curious about with soogo coming into this summer league part too for him is like again we don’t know the specifics MoneyWise guarantee wise about his two-way contract but a lot of these summer league roster guys are here on exhibit 10s right and they are there to impress Scouts of other teams who are there watching these League gamees saying maybe that kid can fill out our 15th roster spot or maybe that young man is who we need to sign to our available two-way slot for this upcoming season soogo is coming into this having just signed a fresh two-way contract with the bulls so to me he’s not looking to prove I need to go make myself a team at Summer League I need to prove to the Bulls that I deserve a bigger role on this team on their team on my team and the other wrinkle of that speaking of the you know the Twin Towers lineup with soogo and the Bulls lone free agent signing uh from free agency week Jaylen Smith simultaneously we are still hearing reports that the Bulls are looking for takers for Nicole a vuvi as they shift to this younger Squad of Players Big Dave I if I’m soogo I’m going out there with Summer League saying I’m gonna do everything I can to dominate because if suddenly Vu gets traded there’s a real window of of opportunity for me to come in in and on a two-way contract play as many games as I can for this team that is suddenly devoid of their starting center of the past three years no you’re absolutely right like you don’t want them to go outside to get what you think that they already have so you want to get out on the floor and any chance you can get to show them that that’s the right move is to have me on the floor or to have me in a bull’s uniform you need to take full advantage of that and honestly I think he has uh in the G League I think he’s just taking really full advantage of what his opportunity has been he hasn’t done anything outside of himself he is I I can I have a soft touch as will stated I have the soft touch and I can rebound and I can pass a little bit I’m okay defensively like but those things that I do really well which is soft touch around the rim and getting rebounds I’m going to dominate them with those things I’m GNA Focus strictly on that in this G League while I’m out here it’s how he got his 2020 uh if you go back and look at that game that’s exactly all he was doing was just like Noe soft touch and I’m snatching all these boards because they’re they’re still regardless of how you may feel about it and Will’s right as to say they’re not at a premium anymore those are still numbers and the team is gon to look and say okay these are I know but dude he’s a double double every damn time like what do you want me to do with that you gotta play him it’s what you want him to do with that so yeah you that’s a guy who is playing for a role Matt not just a like I said not just a seat on the bench but playing for an actual role on this team and that’s that’s where I want his head to be at I think just uh for clarification here sonogo signed a 2-a deal with the bulls I believe those are all for half of the rookie minimum so it’s like you know 500,000 or 600,000 or something like that it does not go against the Bulls cap sheet so um he’s obviously on that contract but you can like you know promote him to a standard NBA roster spot at any point in the year and I think you know my kind of guesstimation of what’s going to happen here is the Bulls are going to go into the season with Zach and Vu they’re going to try to move both of those guys by the deadline and at that point maybe you promote sonogo if he’s still performing at a high level to where he can come in be the backup center behind Jaylen Smith maybe play minutes alongside of him if you feel like Jaylen can play the four um but that I think is kind of the that’s what my plan or agenda would be just considering like at at a certain point you do have to start to move off of Zach and Vu at you know at at some point this season uh dreads in the comments saying Twin Towers isn’t soogo 68 I think he’s listed at 69 officially but yeah as far as centers go he’s he’s under sized and he doesn’t exactly have that below the rim yeah he’s a below the rim big um but he could certainly throw that muscle around we saw it up close in personal last summer and we’re about to watch it again can’t wait still plenty to get you ahead on today’s Cho Bulls summer league preview episode including what’s the latest on Julian Phillips and some of these other sneaky names to keep an eye on like Marcus doas and Daran sebron DJ Stewart and more that’s all still ahead on Cho polls Sunnyside time y’all Sunnyside is your home for judgment free cannabis shopping a place where all kinds of visitors are welcome to explore discover and purchase a wide array of high quality hydroponics in the C Sunnyside has everything you need to elevate your summer show One-Stop shop for all your cannabis needs Sunny size has an expertly curated menu with over 100 strains to choose from plus easy online ordering and in store pickup Sunnyside is Illinois’s favorite dispensary with locations in the city like rville and River North to the suburbs champagne South booy and much much more and here for the summer is good news tea time disposable baap bringing classic lemonade flavor that’s perfect for the course because we all need a little help staying loose on the green wink wink head over to Sunnys side. shop and use the code h i c HG o at checkout for 35% off Brands like presco good news and more to elevate your first purchase Sunny Side Canabis dispensary bright buys every day only 21 and over or Illinois met card holders now is the perfect time if you haven’t signed up to become a c show Die Hard yet do it now because as we are jetting off to Las Vegas tomorrow morning Brighton early and covering Bull’s summer league action like no one else in the Chicago Sports media landscape will some of that stuff is going to be for die hards only including some of Will’s reporting getting access to the coaches and players who are out there in summer league talking to them after games Big Dave and I are going to be hanging out in the Discord after their games on Saturday and Sunday that die hard is of or that Discord is of course for die hards only uh and a couple other surprises we might keep up Our Sleeve for die hards as far as summer leag content goes I want to make a Vegas Journal out there while we are there uh not just about basketball but about our Las Vegas exploits first time young Joseph spathis oh he’s going to be featured in the pecking order summer league Edition uh that’s for die hards only plus of course you get the discounts every time you shop at that CHS Joe merch locker plus the free one of your choice when you sign up 20% off every time you shop you also get discounts to a lot of our ticketed events like Bears tailgates that are coming up right around the corner like our takeovers at the UC for bulls and Hawks games uh that’s [ __ ] London Town trip the big day was just telling you about uh tons of perks tons of discounts and it’s just pennies a day to sign up for an annual membership to become a Cho Die Hard best of the best content from our great team of hosts and reporters and journalists do it now what are you waiting for uh all right guys so Julian Phillips we don’t have to spend too much time on him because I feel like will we got a pretty Resolute uh answer from him when he was speaking at the draft lottery as the Bulls representative as far as his season ending injury is concerned sound like he’s fully recovered from that and ready to go we did also see a couple of snippet videos that the Bulls posted of him getting up and down in some of that uh scrimmage run uh at The Advocate Center earlier this week for the the Vegas you know summer league practices sounds like the the foot injury that that ended his season prematurely is is not an issue correct yeah at the um draft lottery as you said we spoke with him briefly and he said he was ready to go he was ramping up in has been doing practices so curious to see what he looks like you know he’s very much a spot up you know three-point shooter on offense he’s done you know some some good back cutting and like getting to the rim and kind of floating along the Baseline being one of those guys that can just move without the ball but I want to see if he can do a little bit more with the ball in his hands and I think this is an opportunity for him to try to stretch his game out a little bit you know you don’t want to like ask him to do too much to where he’s not going to look good but that year of NBA experience really does matter and that’s an advantage over a lot of these guys so I want to see what he looks like obviously the athleticism is really going to pop but how’s that skill development going how’s this jump shot look can he shoot at a higher volume and do it more consistently I want to see him get up a ton of Threes I want to see if he can do it off the dribble at all um and obviously just like getting up and down transition throwing down some dunks I mean between him and Modis there should be some pretty exciting you know dunks and just like athletic plays blocking shots things like that so I’m really excited to see that but I just want to see like how much can can Julian really expand his game with this opportunity that he probably won’t have otherwise at the NBA level well yeah you brought up something I wasn’t even thinking about you’re absolutely right like there should be some real highlight real things happening uh on that floor um dunks are still very cool in my opinion so it’s what I’ve been told it’s what I’ve been told the kids seem to like it so I I want to see a lot of them because I want all the oo and OD when you’re at something like summer league you’re looking for that you know you’re looking for those oo and ah moments you know because at the end of the day it is a scrimmage in my opinion you know it is a practice that’s going on so it’s obviously a little more on it than that but you want to see a lot of those things happen man like I I want to see the highflying dunks as much as I want to see him take those three-point shots and things like that but I want to see uh the alleyes man like between him and matis I want to see the fast break with matis and and Julie run it down man and Matt in his mind of he’s watching Julian go up and get one like I want all of that man like that’s the fun part of this we can’t I don’t want to lose sight of the fun part uh of watching the game of basketball and it’s stuff like that and it’s stuff that we’ve been missing for the past few years uh on this team we haven’t had these kind of guys that can run the floor be super athletic like that so I’m excited to see this happen you you right will you just got me a little more excited uh saying that I appreciate you can’t wait wait to see that uh that vertical man Julian Phillips best vertical at the NBA draft combine from his uh from his rookie class uh summer league is a great time to put those hops on display but I I I’m with you will to I also want to see Julian shoot every single time he’s open and gets the rock like fire away young man oh oh all all of my eggs are are so unsafely in the Julian Phillips basket and I’m just I’m just riding with it I don’t care at this point what do I have left to lose uh so Robert in the comments just brought up uh Marcus D mask what’s his player comp never saw him play in college only seen highlights uh so we could touch on him as well he played his fifth year senior year uh for Eli last season averaging 165 and four in 38 starts uh the Bulls picked him up on an exhibit 10 contract to join their summer league roster not a guy I expect to be around long term but because of the Align ey connection a lot of bulls fans are curious what what size role do you anticipate him having uh for these you know two weeks worth of games out in Vegas will yeah I mean I have not watched I don’t watch a ton of college basketball during the regular season when I do I tend to focus on like the NBA prospects so I can’t say that I can really speak to his skill level but he does appear to be like one of the only point guards on the roster and so I imagine he’ll kind of be there to help be the floor General get things in motion um I think Daran cbr’s another guy who can do some of that but just like getting things organized pushing the ball in transition just helping some of the other guys like Julian Phillips and Modis Bellis and Adama sonoga for that matter helping those guys get into their spots a little bit more easily help them get shots that you know are a little bit more aligned with what they’ll probably do at the NBA level you know the past couple years when we’ve been doing this it’s been like okay dalon Terry is a guy who’s really gonna just defend and like cut because he’s not really a good spot up shooter and he’s not really good enough ball handler at this point to like really put pressure on the rim on his own so then you put the ball in his hands at summer league and it’s like it doesn’t look great because he’s not quite good enough at that yet so you don’t want to see too much of that with buellis you want to like give him a chance to try it but you don’t want to like overburden him and you know like dissuade him from continuing to be confident and and playing aggressively so it’s good to have guards like that who can just kind of help organize and get you set into your spots a little bit more easily so just not to overburden you and I think he’s going to kind of slide into that role just because there aren’t a ton of other like you know high level guards on the roster yeah from what I remember uh about him when I watched the Illinois play I just remember him being a a high iqed kind of guard uh on the floor he didn’t really do anything that just kind of you know left out at you but he didn’t make those mistakes either you know so I think he’ll get a great chance to run this team and be the floor General uh kind of as will just was alluding to um but I just it’s more so I want to see him hit that back cut when Julian Phillips hit that Baseline and hits that back cut can he hit that bounce pass for that easy lay or when matis is calling for that when he’s got somebody smaller on him can he put it to him right where all he has to do is go to work instead of you know work hard to get the actual basketball because it’s not a great pass to him and stuff like that I’m looking at that kind of little things uh for him because you know when you’re are high iqed and skilled uh kind of guard there’s usually room for you not so much just the NBA but just the league in general like G League you know and those kind of spots like that so I think and and as will said like there aren’t many point guards really on the team so he’s gonna get a chance and opportunity to be out there but I just want him to uh like will was saying run that offense and find the guys who we are there to see that that is the role I think of of uh Damas when he’s out there speaking of guys there to see uh you you briefly mentioned his name will and I want to Circle back to him because I think he’s the first name that you made note of when the bull summer league roster dropped aside from the Bulls you know summer league big three if you want to call it that of Modis uh sonogo and Phillips plus some of those other familiar names Henry Dr is going to be there Andrew funk’s gonna be there I’m sure Big Dave’s excited about Funkadelic but you said when you saw the roster o Darien sebron I really like this kid uh I’m excited to watch him play play the NC State spend the past couple years on two-way deals with the Pelicans shout out to them for having an amazing g-league Name by the way the Birmingham Squadron great g-league name but so Darien sebron for uh pel’s g-league last season put up 176 and six on 5535 shooting splits from uh from the field and from three and I went and watched some of his tape on YouTube today man he’s got size he’s got strength and he is aggressive as hell getting to the rim like if his three ball is there that is a threat of an offensive player will he actually does kind of remind me of Dal Terry and I don’t mean that like disparagingly he’s like a big guard who can put the ball on the ground who can get things organized um but really struggles with his jump shot it’s very much an AK archetype of guy who’s long who’s athletic who really needs to work on developing the skill elements of his game but I’m excited about him too he was a guy I thought could go high in the second round in that draft it was the same draft as the Bulls took D um you know he was kind of like a sleeper pick for a lot of draft Knicks out there and I watched a lot of film of him in college and I was really impressed so um he’s obviously put up numbers in the g- league and I think he could have an opportunity here like last year even you know the Bulls had uh Freeman Liberty out there Javon Freeman Liberty and he was like dominating and I just want to see if like there are other guys that can kind of slide into that role while still helping you know some of the other players get better and and you know put them in positions to succeed so I think think that kind of passer that kind of downhill room pressure could be really valuable for buellis and Julian Phillips yeah I purposely didn’t watch anything about him because I wanted to just see everything when I got to Summer League because I I like that feeling of surprise um when I see somebody on the floor doing something I’m like oh y Dave you’re gonna like him man get ready he’s up oh I’m excited then like I I but yeah I do that with certain some a lot of Summer League players like I just won’t watch them and I just want to watch you on the floor no matter what team is playing I just want to see you on the floor let me let me be surprised and run back to somebody you know what I’m saying like yo did you see this dude like and they’re like yeah I saw him then you know like just be excited with them and then that will make me go look at more things about him but I’m excited from everything you guys are saying about what he can do on the floor sounds like just more excitement for a team that needs some so just sounds like more Youth and athleticism for a team that need some so yeah I’ll take all of those things and yeah I can’t wait to sit down and watch uh there’s a good question about um uh from Robert here who’s the favorite to land the other two way spots in your guys opinion and that’s maybe a good lead in to talk about Andrew Funk and Henry Drell who were twoa guys with the Bulls last year um a little bit older I believe both 24 years of age and I think this is going to be dr’s fourth year with the bulls organization he he’s been with the windy city blls the last three um Funk obviously they brought in towards the back end of last year after he was waved from the Grand Rapids G League team which is the affiliate of the Denver Nuggets uh both of them are like you know Shooters uh dr’s like 6768 and he’s a guy that can you know move off the ball and get shots up um Funk is a little bit shorter he’s you know 6465 but he can really shoot it um but to me like when you talk about the two-way roster spots and this is something that I was really critical about the Bulls during their last rebuild was like the roster churn at the back end is like you have to get guys with potential in the building try them out see if they’re good and then move on from them if they’re not like I don’t want to be like critical of Dr or Funk as players because I just like have not seen enough of them but I I think just like in theory in theory like you should not be using your you know especially when you’re in now a youth movement to rebuild R whatever you call it like those roster spots should go towards like high upside young players that you hope to develop and like get some minutes in at the end of games the back end of the season let those guys run run wild like there’s no there’s no reason for drel and Funk to be the guys that you’re trying to develop at this point not to say they can’t be good NBA players not to say that they aren’t already I don’t know because I haven’t seen them because they haven’t played at the NBA level but my point is like those roster spots should be used for upside plays so I have no problem with those guys being on the summer league roster I think think they’ll help space the floor all that stuff when the season comes around you have to prioritize getting in some potential getting in some athleticism some Youth and guys that you could see turning into something maybe Diamonds in the Rough that they find you know watching some of these other teams at summer league so that has to be a priority I’m not sure you know I think the Bulls would have announced something if they had filled those other two roster spots those other two two-ways but that has to be something that they really prioritize as they enter this new era here because you don’t get the luxury of like okay let’s just get you know under Al ptim in here a guy who can space the floor and maybe he gets a crack that can help you know space things out for dear and for Zach and V it’s like no you need to find Talent now and that’s that’s like how you do it if you’re you’re in the draft you’re swinging for upside and you’re using those two-way spots to the best of your abilities to get talent in the building can can can goat’s PC translator speak now that was that was all very because that was all very well said goat he said well we hav we haven’t seen Dr and Funk at the NBA level uh oh no no we have unless we forget how horrible that experiment went they are trash they’re not NBA players well we haven’t seen enough of them to really be able to say one way or the other yes we have if I have to talk about Henry Dr Andor Andrew Funk on one more offseason Bulls episode I’m gonna lose my freaking mind they are not NBA players that the Bulls should be wasting time further scouting what where is our scouting department and why are Henry Dr and Andrew Funk still here for the love of God thank you Luther that’s his angry translator Luther just did his say yes but he’s right that’s exactly what I was saying in my head when you were saying those well like yeah we kind of saw it we understand what it is um and you know I love the funk like but when I find a player that’s like that that should let you know what player is you like I just wanted to root for him CU I saw him out there like trying he’s a Matt Thomas no don’t you disrespect the great do that in there why youin got do that saying I’m saying in theory like these guys are 24 years old you gota be bringing in some 19 year olds Fair like but they not on the level of Matt Thomas this is Matt Thomas is an NBA player he was on multiple teams sir that is not he is not on the level he was not that because he’s overseas being the greatest shooter in the world you can look up the stats we could go get the stats if you want will I’m down for this I’m down for this I will show you the stat where that man at one time was the greatest shooter in the world Matt saw it I showed it to him I would happily pull it up don’t get me started well why you got to go here on the mat9 don’t do this saying you don’t you don’t use your two-way spots on a 29 year old are you saying FK are you tell your Matt Matt both I mean funks oh Matt Thomas no Matt Thomas has already had no I’m already on that man I’m just saying he had his time in the NBA NBA wasn’t ready for that kind of greatness we understood that so he moved over back overseas so he can continue on with his journey of of getting bringing great shooting around the world we understand that but funk I don’t think should be in in the NBA right now I don’t I’m not gonna say that about D I think Dr can put on a uniform because he’s tall and sit on the bench but I wouldn’t put him in the game that’s best way I would say it to him like he could he he could dress for sure I think he could dress but I don’t know about getting into the game man it’s only because of the sides uh that I see him with you’re like yeah okay maybe you can be the 12 guy on the squad well and you know I am scx in the comments I think referring to us slandering Dr and Funk saying Shooters yes this team needs Shooters have you seen him knock down to three how how many how many yeah I don’t think Funk is hit a shot yet don’t worry I’ll wait while you tell me how many threes Henry Dr and Andrew Funk have collectively hit NBA games oh man can’t stop the funk but we should but this is the summer league this is what it’s for man to see those kind of guys out there and see if they can continue their career in some kind of is that we’ve already seen those guys in their career dr’s been with the team for three years like they should know what they have in this guy feels like 10 yeah and like I don’t disagree with you get rid of him tomorrow for sure for sure there’s no I have no problem with him being on the summer league roster but like don’t feed him possessions you know he’s not going to be a part of like your long-term future yes let’s work towards developing the guys that could be around in three years and let’s find more guys that could be around in three years as opposed to guys who have been taking up that spot for the last three years and not proving that they can be a part of the future I’m with you on that so uh with our remaining time let’s touch on a couple other names of guys who we uh will be looking at for the first first time at least in a bull summer league Jersey uh DJ Stewart and Chase a uh stward Chicago native played at both Fenwick uh Out in Oak Park also played at Whitney Young right here in Chicago goat does not like the Fenwick mention um spent one year playing at Duke and then has had a couple of short stints uh in the NBA signed and released by the Sacramento Kings then signed and eventually released by the Boston Celtics and there respective g-league programs uh starting with Steward Chicago I like I feel like the Bulls covered a lot of bases we got an we got an Aline ey guy we got a Chicago native who played Whitney Young uh Go goat what if anything are you intrigued about when it comes to DJ Stewart yeah I’ve not seen much of him obviously spent some time in the g g League last year played at Duke but I’m just curious to see if he can kind of like hang at this level um you know he’s had opportunities in the league but like can he put up some numbers or is this just like another kind of feel-good Chicago area story you know obviously he had some pedigree playing at Duke and being in the g- league like that counts for something but you know can we just see a little bit of flash or pop here that can prove that you know maybe he’s worth one of those two way Contra contracts and could be a guy that the Bulls hang on to so um yeah let’s just let’s see what he looks like I think same for OD I’ve never watch him play at all so I’m just curious to see what he can look like yeah I don’t think anything’s written uh in stone when it com to that or at least it shouldn’t be to those uh two-way contracts so those guys are definitely uh playing for something and yeah and and AK definitely has a type that like he enjoys getting guys with ties to the city you know what I mean and and that’s okay I don’t have a problem with that um so he just want to watch those guys go out there see what they can prove and see what they can do because we know the bul who the bulk of the work is going to but they’re gonna have to sit down at sometime so when they have those seats you know what are you going to do to step up you know and and show that you belong if not on the Bulls but on an NBA roster or on a g League team like this is an audition you know for those kind of guys which is the cool thing about summer league uh you get to see those guys kind of audition and you can grow you can blossom you can be a Spencer Den with it you can be a javante Javon Freeman Liberty like you can be those guys man so you just need to take advantage of the opportunity and I’m excited to watch which ones actually do it yeah uh when it comes to uh DJ Stewart 62 so a bit of a guard a bit on the undersides his 2021 season at Duke he did average nearly 31 minutes per game shot a respectable uh percentage from 3 34% uh but just managed 42 and a half% uh overall from the field put up 13 points four boards two and a half assists per game but just couldn’t really stick in either the Kings or Celtics development program and then ad you know just make the triumvirate of bulls fans being excited about guys being from certain spots now we have the northwest guy on the bull summer league roster uh he transferred from William and Mary after his freshman year then had a red shirt and then spent three seasons with the wild cats I mean he signed an exhibit 10 with Washington last September and then was pretty quickly thereafter waved I don’t know if I could be all that excited about a guy who couldn’t find use for himself with the Washington Wizards while they are the worst team in the league I’m I’m not I’m not trying to be like snarky or me you’re saying like yeah go go cats and everything but like man you couldn’t even stick with the Wizards like how how how good are you damn yeah we’ll see I mean this is It’s new opportunity and you never know what these guys can take from it EV every single like scout player Personnel front office executive lower level front office member you know every single person who works in the NBA is at these gyms watching every single one of these games watching every single one of these players and this is an opportunity to showcase your skill and your ability to stick at the NBA level a lot of a lot of guys get training camp invites those nine or 10 exhibit contracts maybe even a two-way maybe even just like a regular roster spot out of playing really well so these guys take it really seriously it is fun and it is like a blast and I want to hear from you guys like what you guys are excited to see and do while we’re staying at Circa but um this is like a big deal for those kind of players so you never put it past anybody to really pop and just be that diamond in the rough that every single team is looking for yeah yeah and that’s the exciting part watching a guy who I mean I think everybody kind of likes an Underdog Story you know and that’s what the summer league kind of is just it might be full of underdogs on every team just a guy who’s been battling to get to this point no matter how old they are been battling to get to that point and now they have a chance on a stage in in front of you know teams and and their personnel and Scouts and even NBA players sitting there watching you perform and you have an opportunity to put on the show for your career for your job you know to get you on a roster whether like I said whether it’s either g- league roster it could be a Team USA roster you end up on it could be the NBA roster you end up on but there are so many eyes watching you that when you’re performing well you will get that opportunity because people know Talent when they see Talent that’s the bottom line of it so yeah it’s a cool thing summer League’s been going for what like 20 years I believe man and it’s just been a lot of great things that have come out of it and I’m honored that we even get to go and just you know sit and watch that then and and uh meet some of the people that we actually meet as far as uh players and things like that like it’s just it’s just a really good time man to for all basketball people it’s basketball summer camp pretty much it’s exactly what it is it’s a blast and like for anybody who is thinking about going out there thinking about getting tickets just just go to one of the games I mean it is so cool you can brush up against you know brush shoulders with any executive in the league all the media members are there um like people are just watching having fun and then like going and hang out on the casino floor and you just run into like every it’s like a who’s who of Executives NBA players and it’s just so cool to see everybody in one place like you said David summer camp for the NBA LeBron shows up usually to sit and watch and I know Team USA has been doing some camp in Vegas so imagine that they will be there but I mean you could just be on the Arya uh casino floor and run into you know a million different people and so it’s it’s just exciting Jose alvado Jose Alvarado could be there Butler who knows Eric spola could be there and you could just like be you know going to dinner at one of the restaurants in one of these hotels and be sitting next to these guys so it’s just really cool I would highly recommend people go check it out uh the tickets are pretty cheap I mean much cheaper than NBA games we’ll be there if you do decide to go please come say hi or let us know that you’re there we will come say what’s up and take some pictures and whatever um but it’s just a lot of fun and I just I can’t wait to go indeed uh just to give him a little bit of a shout out because I felt bad about my comments with Jay o i mean shout out to him he did actually win big 10 defensive player of year in the 2223 season average two and a half steals per game for the Wildcats for those Bulls fans may be looking for someone to fulfill the shoes of Alex Russo outside shot Chas earns his way onto a two-way contract and is the new Cookie Monster for the Bulls backourt defense say without laughing I I didn’t hear any laughs in there there was a smile in my face yeah no I’m I’m so stoked uh like you said will it’s a Who’s Who uh at Vegas uh the last couple years we’ve been there it’s so fun I mean maybe one of like top three favorite moment for me last year was realizing I was sitting next to Tim McMahon on the Baseline in the media seats and he and I had a little conversation about how much I enjoyed the low post and his appearances on it and uh and we agreed with with smiles and a couple of Chuckles how you know Tim bontemps is annoying little torp so like that was really cool like as as an NBA podcast nerd myself I know I I you I host one of these with y’all but I’m also a listener of other NBA podcasts and NBA media and to see those people around Vegas is really cool to talk to them it’s really cool but yes if you are a bulls fan heading out to the desert this weekend to catch some summer league action you see us around the Pavilion Thomas Max Center come say hi to us if you see us walking down the strip come say hi to us uh hopefully we can waet and hang out with some of our Bulls fans there we are heading to O’Hare bright and early tomorrow morning for a flight out uh we are not going to do a live show Friday upon arrival but we will have shows for y’all Saturday Sunday Monday and Tuesday from various spots uh live from our gracious hosts at that’s right circuit Resort and Casino cannot wait to say hello to that place again because they treated us very well last summer can’t wait to be back in the meantime read goat stuff allc show.com is where you can find it willor gotle is his Twitter big day bow bwl Sports our pal producer on the controls who’s coming out to Vegas with us ladies and gentlemen is the one and only young Joseph spis about is Vegas Cherry oh my God I’m so excited at Joyce pathis _ we are chore Bulls we will talk to y’all from hot sunny Las Vegas tomorrow see red be good love y’all [Music] [Applause]
The CHGO Bulls crew preview the 2024 Chicago Bulls Summer League season! Before jetting out to Las Vegas, the guys take a closer look at the Bulls Summer League roster. It’s headlined by their #11 overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, Matas Buzelis. What can we expect to see from the former Hinsdale Central prospect and G-League Ignite veteran? Plus, Windy City Bulls star Adama Sanogo returns to the Summer League squad, freshly signed to a new two-way contract. Is he poised to make a statement as the Bulls front office seeks a trade for Nikola Vucevic? Matt, Big Dave and Will also look at roster standouts like Dereon Seabron, Marcus Domask, DJ Steward and Chase Audige.
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The Chicago Bulls Beat Toronto Raptors score is 84 – 74 Final Bulls Win NBA Summer League