Matas Buzelis, Julian Phillips highlight Bulls summer league roster originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
Presented by Nationwide Insurance Agent Jeff Vukovich
He has signed his rookie scale contract. He has swooned over his No. 14 Chicago Bulls jersey. And he has become the shiny new toy for the team’s social media site.
And now Matas Buzelis is listed on an NBA roster for the first time. And while it’s merely for NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, Buzelis and second-year forward Julian Phillips will have the most eyeballs on them when the Bulls open their minimum five-game schedule on July 13 at 3:30 p.m. against the Milwaukee Bucks.
Adama Sanogo, Henri Drell and Andrew Funk are other familiar faces on the roster, which will be coached by Billy Donovan III. Those three players saw limited minutes for the NBA team while playing on two-way contracts last season.
Illinois forward Marcus Domask, who started all 38 games for that program last season, and Northwestern guard Chase Audige, who played for the Windy City Bulls, are other names with local flavor. Donovan III worked with Windy City in the G League last season.
The Bulls also will play the Golden State Warriors on July 14 at 9 p.m., the Detroit Pistons on July 16 at 5:30 p.m. and the Atlanta Hawks on July 19 at 5 p.m. before their fifth and possibly sixth games are determined. They’d need to advance in the summer league playoffs to play more than five games.
Phillips played 40 games for the Bulls last season and showed flashes of promise with his instinctive cutting and athleticism before a right midfoot sprain cut short his season. He said he’s fully healthy now.
Buzelis, selected with the 11th pick in last month’s NBA Draft, talked about how excited he was to get to work that night. With the Bulls holding practices in advance of their first game, that work is about to begin.
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