Rahimi, Harris & Grote Show
Matas Buzelis talks Rising Stars honor, Bulls' direction (Hour 2)
11 Feb 2026
Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.
Chapter 1: What does Matas Buzelis say about his Rising Stars honor?
This hour is sponsored by Riverfront Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram.
This is Rahimi Harrison-Grody on 104.3 The Score, and we are awaiting Bulls practice to wrap up in Boston because we are going to get to talk to Matas Bouzelis, who is playing in his third straight Rising Stars game. I don't know that I should admit to this, but I think I'm going to.
Marshall and I were talking about the process Sixers and how that is truly the the hardest of rebuilds in the break. And you I left in October of 2020 or 2015 to come here. So I didn't have to deal with it the entire time. You you did a hard time.
Yeah. I reminded you of the Markel Fultz trade where they traded up with the Boston Celtics from two to one. And when they traded up with the Boston Celtics, they broke one of the cardinal rules in basketball, which is don't trade with Danny Ainge. The Sixers, who had to give up draft capital to get that number one pick, took Markel Fultz. And the number two pick that year was Jason Tatum.
And as they say, the rest is history.
History, history. We were talking about how the process was so intent on rebuilding that the NBA stopped it mid-process.
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Chapter 2: How does Matas Buzelis view the Bulls' direction after recent trades?
But that's because it was four years in.
Yeah, you can only go about a half a decade of just losing in bad situations. I was telling Mark the story of tickets were so cheap that you would go on StubHub or whatever the local site was, and you would pay fees for a row of tickets, and the actual tickets themselves cost a total of a dollar. That's bad.
You think you're tanking? You haven't seen a tank!
Yeah, that's what real tanking looks like. Believe it or not, it's hard to even think about it, but there was a time when Cubs games tickets were a joke. When Theo Epstein, ironically... And Jed Hoyer had taken over in what was a blatant rebuild of the team with some of the players that were on those rosters. And you could go on StubHub and find Cubs tickets for a dollar.
Which is kind of awesome.
Kind of.
No, it is. It is.
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Chapter 3: What challenges does Matas Buzelis face with new teammates?
Because at that point, you're just hanging out and there's a game in front of you. Because you can't be committed to the result because the result will probably not favor the home team.
And then that's when you get to see talented players from other teams. There's still a Major League Baseball team on the field. And you get to see Brian LaHare playing first base or Big Frank. Not that big, Frank.
My first assignment for Comcast Sportsnet, the company, like the entire company, because I spent time in Philly with Marshall. The company. I was in Houston prior to that. I was here in Chicago for many years, was covering the Astros' last series in the National League against the Cubs here. And it was the first meeting of two 100-loss teams in like 50 years or something.
And Luke Stockmeyer goes, and we're just the reporters to do it. I was like, is your team bad? I am here. I am here to cover your team.
Chapter 4: What insights does Matas Buzelis share about his recovery after games?
What are the special stories on that team? Here's Nate Sheerholz. Marshall's like, you know, there's talented teams on the other side. I'm like, well, not always.
Not always. No, you're right about that. Boy, that's agonizing. That's a painful story. A couple of 100 lost teams. Can you imagine that?
It was one of those where were you, like, were you there moments. Like, Jake Flanagan, who now runs CHGO, was also at that game. And he's like, oh, man, the only tickets we could get to this World Cup season were the tickets to the Astros game. I was like, oh, me too.
Yeah, I can't imagine the play-by-play announcers for those two coming together in the press box and both just looking at each other's sides and saying, oh, man, it's been a season, commiserating, shaking their head.
Chapter 5: How do the hosts react to the Bulls' recent performance?
They're great jobs. You're never going to get somebody who is a head of play-by-play to be like, life sucks because life is pretty cool doing that job. But when you lose 100 games in a baseball season, that's tough for everybody in the traveling party. I love the idea that both teams get paid. Both teams are professionals.
And even when there's bad players on your team, they're trying to get things done.
They are. And we are happy to report that Bulls practice has wrapped up. Shootaround is over in Boston. And now joining us at our Circus Sports Illinois hotline, download the Circus Sports app today, is the three-time rising star, Modest Buzelis. Modest, thanks for coming on.
No problem. Thank you guys for having me.
All right, first things first, I've gotten a hot news tip, Modest. I hear that you like to have some food after shoot-arounds.
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Chapter 6: What are the latest updates on the Cubs and Red Sox trade talks?
What's your go-to to get the hotel spread going?
I'm going, it depends on what time it is. If it's in the morning, I'm going with the eggs scrambled, four eggs with cheese, probably sausage mixed, and some pancakes.
I love pancakes. Nice. Load them up with butter, syrup. I mean, you'd really load those pancakes up? I'm not going to lie.
I've never had butter on my pancakes. What? I don't know. Is it good?
Yes. Wait, what do you do? This is important news here.
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Chapter 7: What is discussed during the Halftime segment?
I just go with syrup.
That's it. Now, how much crap have you gotten from your family growing up? It's like, come on, young modest, a little bit of butter, and you're like, no thanks?
We never had butter for the pancakes in my house when we were younger.
That means you're a healthier household then. That's what I'm hearing here.
You're young and can burn a lot of calories, man. Like for those of us who can't, we need you to try to mix it up a little.
You know what? That's what I might start doing. I might start doing it from this day forward, moving forward.
Modest, I'm very curious because you obviously have been selected for a third straight Rising Stars game. To my knowledge, you're the only player who's ever been selected to play in three straight games because, of course, you played in the G League in the first time you played, then your rookie season, now in your second season. Do you know if you're the first guy to play in three straight games?
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Chapter 8: How do the hosts compare the Bulls' situation to other teams?
I think some other guys have done it. I think Scoot Henderson has done it. There's somebody else I can't recall, but it's honestly a blessing and I'm super excited.
Do you feel like it's changed the way you look at either All-Star weekend or just like the game itself, the way the NBA is always tweaking with the rules and selections and how we come up with the teams who play?
I wouldn't say that, no. I'm just very excited to be in L.A. and participating against, you know, the best players and, you know, getting to see all those back guys who are stars in the league and, you know, learning from them.
Well, congratulations for being in that again because, of course, we all want you to be a star. Along those same lines, have you considered or will you consider doing the slam dunk competition again maybe sometime down the line? Because I was thinking about you.
In that game against Toronto, the one that Mac McClung played in with you, and I'm thinking about McClung because he's the three-time dunk champion, and then you have a sick one-handed jam in that game, and I'm thinking, oh, we've got two dunkers right here. Have you thought about that? And while I'm at it, what do you think about Mac McClung?
Um... Actually, you know, we have two dunk contest champs on our team. And Freddie Simon's also another one. That's right. Nice. We have a couple. We have a couple guys. Yeah, honestly, you know, I definitely would want to do it again. I'm just, you know, listening to my body this year. You know, your body is a temple, so you have to take care of it. And, you know, Mac McClung, he's a great guy.
He works extremely hard. You know, to be where he is for that long, you know, in the G, grinding every day, and the guys don't know how tough it is. So props to him. He's an amazing guy. I'm going to call him a vet. He's been doing it for so long, and I give him all the props, and he's an amazing person.
You know, Modest, you bring up something pretty compelling when you talk about just the effects that that can have on your body. Playing in a Rising Stars game is obviously a little bit different of an activity compared to the dunk contest. What was the lasting effect for you when it came to just...
having to recover that, you know, being younger, being still new to your process, like what, how did you physically feel after competing and what have you heard from other people about how it takes it out of you?
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