Bulls' Forward Duo Has Similar Shades Of Former NBA Champions

It’s a forward’s league.

That’s what people say when talking about the modern NBA. Guards are still extremely valuable and some of the league’s best players have the ball in their hands on nearly every possession, but a team’s championship chances often come down to what it has at the forward positions.

This season, the Knicks had Mikal Bridges and OG Anunoby. The season prior, the Thunder had Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams occupying the frontcourt. Two-way forwards are dominating the modern landscape of basketball, and the Chicago Bulls just might have found their pairing for the future with Matas Buzelis and Caleb Wilson.

There is also a long history of NBA champions leaning on versatile forward combinations.

Midway through the 2003-04 season, the Pistons realized they needed a little more firepower. They needed to make a move to turn themselves from a playoff team into a legitimate NBA Finals contender.

At the deadline, Detroit went out and brought in Rasheed Wallace.

Wallace was a 6-foot-11 forward out of North Carolina who played with a mean streak on both sides of the ball. He was a great athlete, powering through defenders for dunks and tough rebounds while also possessing an impressive finesse game. He could hit turnaround jumpers, operate in the mid-post and eventually became a legitimate threat from beyond the arc.

Next to him was Tayshaun Prince, a long 6-foot-9 forward who could defend some of the best perimeter players in basketball while still providing enough offensively to punish teams that ignored him.

Neither Wallace nor Prince was the No. 1 or even No. 2 scoring option on that championship team, but both found ways to impact games on both ends of the floor. Their combination of length, athleticism and defensive versatility gave opposing teams problems and neither was afraid of the moment offensively.

There is no doubt the Pistons do not win that championship without the contributions of those two.

So where does that leave Matas Buzelis and Caleb Wilson?

The comparisons are far from perfect, but there are some interesting similarities between what Wallace and Prince gave Detroit and what the Bulls could eventually get out of Wilson and Buzelis.

Wilson is the easier player to compare to Wallace.

Like Wallace, Wilson has the physical tools to impact a game in just about every way a power forward can. He can run the floor, finish above the rim, rebound, protect the basket and use his athleticism to overwhelm smaller players.

But what makes the comparison especially interesting is that Wilson is not simply an athletic finisher.

There is some finesse to his game as well.

Wilson showed a developing mid-range game at North Carolina, including the ability to face up defenders and knock down turnaround jumpers. Wallace became one of the most versatile offensive big men of his generation because he could combine his size and physicality with that type of touch away from the basket.

Wilson obviously has a very long way to go before reaching that level, but the foundation is intriguing.

The biggest question will be the three-point shot. Wallace eventually became a legitimate floor spacer who could drag opposing big men away from the basket. Wilson will have to develop that part of his game to reach his offensive ceiling.

Defensively, however, the potential is already obvious. Wilson has the length and athleticism to block shots around the basket while also possessing the mobility to defend away from it. Add some muscle to his frame and the Bulls could eventually have a power forward capable of handling several different defensive assignments.

Then there is Buzelis, whose role could look a little more like Prince’s.

Prince was never the biggest name on those Pistons teams, and he never needed to be. At 6-foot-9 with tremendous length, Prince made his living by taking difficult defensive assignments, disrupting opposing scorers and fitting into whatever Detroit needed offensively.

That sounds like a role Buzelis could thrive in.

At 6-foot-10, Buzelis already has the length to bother perimeter players and has become increasingly comfortable defending on the ball. Combine that with the weak-side shot blocking he has displayed throughout his first two seasons and there is legitimate potential for Buzelis to develop into one of Chicago’s most versatile defenders.

Like Prince, he also does not necessarily need the offense to run through him.

Buzelis can space the floor, cut without the basketball, attack closeouts and get out in transition. He can impact winning without needing to take 20 shots every night.

That is what makes the pairing with Wilson so exciting.

Wilson can be the more physical, aggressive forward. Let him attack the glass, run the floor, punish mismatches and eventually operate out of the mid-post. Buzelis can be the rangier piece next to him, spacing the floor offensively while using his length to take on difficult defensive assignments.

In other words, Wilson can provide some of the things Wallace gave Detroit while Buzelis settles into a role more reminiscent of Prince.

Again, nobody is saying Caleb Wilson is going to become Rasheed Wallace or Matas Buzelis will turn into Tayshaun Prince. The comparison is more about how their skill sets could complement one another.

Detroit had two long, versatile forwards who could defend multiple positions, contribute offensively without dominating the basketball and impact playoff games in different ways.

Chicago might be building something similar.

The pairing becomes even more interesting when considering who would be playing alongside them.

Josh Giddey is at his best when surrounded by athletes who move without the basketball and give him targets in transition. Wilson and Buzelis both fit that description. A defensive stop could quickly turn into Giddey pushing the ball with two long, athletic forwards sprinting the floor on either side of him.

That is an identity the Bulls can build around.

There are still plenty of questions.

Wilson needs to become a more reliable shooter and continue adding strength. Buzelis needs to become more consistent offensively while continuing his progression as an on-ball defender. Both players are still young and neither is close to being a finished product.

But that is also what makes the pairing so intriguing.

The Bulls have spent the last few seasons searching for foundational pieces during their rebuild. Buzelis has already spent two seasons making his case to be one. Now, Wilson enters the picture looking to become another. 

In a league increasingly dominated by long, athletic and versatile forwards, the Bulls suddenly have two young players who fit that description perfectly.

If Wilson and Buzelis continue developing together, Chicago might have already found the forward combination it can build around for years to come.