CHGO Digest: Welcome to the Bulls, Matas Buzelis, Blackhawks trade

Good morning, friends!

And welcome home, Matas Buzelis!

Did Arturas Karnisovas get it right?

Drafting the 19-year-old Buzelis is a win for the youth movement, but the absence of corresponding action via trade leaves me uncertain that the Bulls are fully committed to a teardown.

Maybe we’ll have a better understanding of the plan when free agency begins Sunday night.

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— Patrick Norton

Three things to know about Matas Buzelis

Matas Buzelis did not play college ball. Neither did four of the draft’s top ten picks including No. 1 and No. 2. That’s just the way the cookie crumbles in today’s NBA.

Buzelis instead opted to learn and grow his game with the now-defunct G League Ignite. That experience did not hinder his growth as a player, but it kept the 6-9 forward out of the spotlight. Now, after being mocked as high as No. 1 throughout the last year, Buzelis is coming home.

• Buzelis hails from Hinsdale, Illinois. He started his hoops career at Hinsdale Central before transferring to Brewster Academy in New Hampshire to keep playing through the COVID-19 pandemic. Buzelis made one final stop at Sunrise Christian Academy in Kansas before signing with G League Ignite after high school.
  
• Buzelis wanted to play for Chicago. The 2023 McDonald’s All-American teared up while speaking with ESPN, saying “I wanted to be here.” Buzelis later said while meeting Chicago media via Zoom, “This means the world. Me being born and raised there, it just makes it so much better.”
  
• Buzelis’ favorite player growing up? Derrick Rose.
  

🔎 GO DEEPER | Will Gottlieb breaks down and grades the Bulls’ selection with comments from Arturas Karnisovas!

Thanks for coming out, Bulls fans!

Thank you to all the Bulls fans who came out to Draft Day Live presented by Coors Light at PB&J West Loop last night!

$99 Trip to Milwaukee | LAST CHANCE!

We’re heading up to Wrigley North! Join us on a bus ride up to MKE from Almost Home in Chicago or the Circa Sportsbook in Waukegan for just $99! Purchase includes your game ticket, the bus ride, and plenty of beers and snacks!

Blackhawks acquire Ilya Mikheyev ahead of draft, free agency

Kyle Davidson is off to an early start for the Blackhawks’ offseason, striking a late-night deal with the Vancouver Canucks.

Blackhawks receive: Ilya Mikheyev, Sam Lafferty (pending UFA), Canucks’ 2027 2nd-round pick
Canucks receive: Blackhawks’ 2027 4th-round pick

Acquiring Mikheyev isn’t a move that will bring the Blackhawks out of the league’s basement, but he’s a reclamation project under contract for two more seasons.

• Why make the trade? The Blackhawks need bodies. The Blackhawks — even after the trade — are projected to enter free agency with $28.9 million of cap space. Currently spending $59.1 million on 14 skaters, the team must reach the league’s $65 million cap floor by the start of the season. The pick swap is just the cherry on top.
  
• What’s next? Before the Blackhawks can begin building around Connor Bedard in free agency, the club has an important decision to make with the No. 2 overall pick in the NHL Draft this Friday night. Ivan Demidov or Artyom Levshunov?
  

🎧 LISTEN | TSN’s Craig Button joins the CHGO Blackhawks crew to debate the No. 2 pick and give his thoughts on the progress of the Blackhawks’ rebuild.

Roundup: Jeremy Roenick elected to HHOF, White Sox sell out

• Congratulations, Jeremy Roenick! The former Blackhawk great is headed for immortality in Toronto at the Hockey Hall of Fame. Roenick joins a class of seven to be enshrined this November. Playing his first eight years with the Blackhawks, Roenick scored 596 points (267 goals, 329 assists) in 524 games. Roenick’s entire career spanned 20 years, finding twine 513 times (42nd all-time) in 1363 games.
  
• 36,225 fans packed Guaranteed Rate Field on Wednesday night as the White Sox celebrated Mexican Heritage. The sold-out crowd was the Southside’s first of the season. The Sox dropped the series finale to Shohei Ohtani and the Dodgers, 4-0. At 21-61, the South Siders remain on pace for the worst 162-game season in baseball history.
  

Join us for an upcoming CHGO event!

⚾ 7/5: Friday 1:20 Club at Wrigley Field – vs. Los Angeles Angels
⛳️ 7/22: Cookout Classic Golf Outing at St. Andrews!
⚾ 8/9: Crosstown Classic Takeover at Guaranteed Rate Field

Check out our full calendar here!

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