NBA Draft: G League Ignite Wings Offer Upside Swings

The Ignite duo of Matas Buzelis and Ron Holland both offer high-upside swings.

Team Detlef forward Matas Buzelis, right, of the G League Ignite celebrates with a teammate after / Grace Hollars / USA TODAY NETWORK

The respective seasons of Matas Buzelis and Ron Holland II in the G League undoubtedly didn’t go as planned. Especially given the Ignite’s dissolution since the end of its season.

Holland looked nearly as advertised from an athleticism and frame standpoint, but struggled in a few key areas. His efficiency wasn’t great, he struggled with turnovers in the lead role and failed to showcase his perimeter shooting prowess in a positive light.

Buzelis saw similar issues in the G. While his length and plus athleticism certainly stood out, he failed to put everything together as he had during his days as a prep standout. His defense faltered often, his splits weren’t quite as shiny and the overall impact didn’t seem to be there.

All of this and more caused both to slide some in the draft projections.

Still, both Holland and Buzelis offer some of the highest upside in the class, and should likely be taken higher than what the expert projections suggest at the moment.

In a perfect world, Holland’s two-way presence and physicality on the wing will stand out well if his outside shot becomes respectable. And the same can be said for Buzelis, who could stand out even more in a unicorn-esque way.

In a draft without a standout No. 1 pick, Holland and Buzelis are both great options for teams wanting to swing for the fences and maximize their chances of landing a star.

Regardless, all it will take is one franchise to echo these sentiments in the top-five to reach on what could be the two best players in this class, years down the line.

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