Central Notes: Buzelis, Donovan, Giddey, Allen, Stewart

Amid rumors about Billy Donovan‘s future with the Bulls, second-year forward Matas Buzelis made it clear he hopes Donovan remains in his role as head coach next season, according to Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times.

“He’s been everything, man,” Buzelis said. “He’s been a role model to me; he’s someone I look up to as a person, as a human being. He’s a guy that’s been a cornerstone for me. He’s pushed me to my limits, and he’s going to keep pushing me until I can’t be pushed anymore.

“I can’t thank somebody like that enough. He tells you the truth every time. It’s hard to do that, especially in this league, to have someone in your corner that is going to tell you everything you need to hear.”

Here’s more from around the Central Division:

• Bulls guard Josh Giddey hopes the team is able to “keep playing the right way” to close out the season, Cowley writes in another story. Giddey acknowledged Chicago’s roster situation is a little unusual with so many impending free agents. “I’m not going to speak for other guys because I know how it is to be in a contract year, and individually you are always worried about yourself,” said Giddey, who signed a four-year, $100MM contract as a restricted free agent last year. “Everybody wants to play well, that’s no secret, contract-wise or not, especially coming into free agency. You want to perform, you want your visibility to be as high as possible, so I get it from that point of view. But it’s important to make everything about the team. It’s easy for guys to waver and think about themselves. I was guilty of it, as well. I just think it’s important to let that stuff get handled in the offseason. Don’t drag it into the team. In stints I thought we played selfish ball [Wednesday] and started to get in one-on-one stuff, iso stuff, and it’s just not the way we play. It’s not sustainable and not how we have to win games.”
• Veteran center Jarrett Allen provided a major boost to the Cavaliers in Friday’s lopsided victory over Miami, writes Tom Withers of The Associated Press. Allen, who had missed the previous 10 games due to right knee tendonitis, had eight points in the first four minutes, finishing with 18 points and 10 rebounds in 18 minutes. Head coach Kenny Atkinson said the former All-Star big man would be on a restriction of about 20 minutes prior to the game, Withers notes. “It was great,” Allen said of his quick start. “Shoutout to Kenny, he drew up the first play for me. I usually don’t get the first play sometimes, but he wanted to get me going, wanted to get me back in the groove of things and from there, things just started rolling for me.” Max Strus, who was making his sixth appearance of 2025/26 following offseason foot surgery, led the Cavs with a season-high 29 points (on 10-of-14 shooting) in 23 minutes, Withers adds.
• Reserve big man Isaiah Stewart has been cleared to resume on-court activities, the Pistons announced in a press release. The 25-year-old center/forward is recovering from a left calf strain, last suiting up on March 13.