The pair first met as prospects in the Nike Hoop Summit circuit, then became closer through G League Ignite. That familiar face was a welcome relief for Miller. And in the initial days after the upheaval of the trade deadline, Buzelis repeated the same message to coaching staff and teammates and media alike: We\u2019re going to need Lenny.<\/p>\n
Miller knew Buzelis for his warmth as a teammate and friend. Still, this outpouring of support had a buoying effect on a young player trying to stop his head from spinning amid the first trade of his career.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe doesn\u2019t have to do that for me,\u201d Miller said.<\/p>\n
Although it lasted only four short seasons, the Ignite program has been a unique bonding force for young players across the league such as Buzelis and Miller. The general consensus is that Ignite was a flawed concept at its core. Buzelis felt the team\u2019s youngest players suffered from a lack of structure and veteran guidance. His team won only two games during the 2023-24 season. The league shuttered the franchise that same year.<\/p>\n
But Miller doesn\u2019t want to hear it. The Ignite fulfilled his primary goal: become a professional basketball player.<\/p>\n
![\"Bulls](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/ctc-l-bulls-okc.jpg\")
Bulls forward Leonard Miller celebrates after making a 3-pointer against the Thunder on March 3, 2026, at the United Center. (Armando L. Sanchez\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n
Parts of the process were hard. Even messy. But to Miller, that was just an authentic introduction to the NBA. He needed to learn how to play against more experienced competition, how to prepare himself for practices and games like a professional. Even if his team didn\u2019t win games, Miller felt the Ignite program prepared him as a young man without the \u201cbarriers\u201d that a college environment might have created.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was just a bunch of positives,\u201d Miller said. \u201cThere was nothing but green flags. I don\u2019t know what everybody else has to say about it, but I just know my experience was amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Getting to the pros was only the first step. Once Miller made it \u2014 he was a second-round pick in the 2023 draft \u2014 he learned how difficult it was to carve out an identity on a crowded roster of Timberwolves players eager to make deep runs in the Western Conference playoffs.<\/p>\n
At first, Miller felt he could learn simply by watching and waiting. But as years went by, he began to question whether his opportunity would ever be presented. This was a shared experience with fellow traded teammate Rob Dillingham<\/a>, who similarly languished on the Timberwolves bench throughout his first two seasons in Minneapolis. Both players carried a chip on their shoulder to Chicago, where they hope to prove their ability to provide more than minutes in garbage time.<\/p>\n \u201cAnybody that\u2019s not really getting a chance to get out there and compete in meaningful minutes over the course of multiple years \u2014 you\u2019re going to feel like you\u2019re being held back,\u201d Miller said. \u201cBut nonetheless I\u2019m still putting in the work so that when I did get a chance \u2014 even though I was being held back \u2014 I was still working on the things I could implement when I did get a chance.\u201d<\/p>\n