The Chicago Bulls have already grasped the idea that Noa Essengue is in for a rookie season heavy on development and light on minutes at the NBA level. That shouldn't come as much of a surprise, given the Frenchman's status as the youngest player in the 2025 draft class and 25 total games of EuroCup experience in one of the lower-tier leagues of European basketball.
It shouldn't be a knock on Essengue; he's shown flashes of immense upside as a lanky 6-foot-10 combo forward with a massive wingspan, tremendous athleticism, good feel for the game and solid handles for someone his size. His elite defensive potential and finishing ability are exactly what the Bulls are looking for on the wing.
The idea of an Essengue-Matas Buzelis tandem is captivating; two long, athletic, interchangeable, playmaking forwards who can wreak havoc defensively and dominate in transition sounds like a nightmare to gameplan for.
That dream just won't become reality this year.
Bulls plan for Noa Essengue's rookie season is coming into focus
Essengue was only part of the front office's emphasis on acquiring young, athletic, high-potential wings who project as strong defenders. Considering the team's awful performance on that end of the floor last year (not to mention the lack of hustle and physicality), executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas was right to beef up that part of the roster.
Isaac Okoro was a shrewd acquisition, and he joins Ayo Dosunmu, Dalen Terry, Patrick Williams, Buzelis and Essengue in that archetype.
But outside of Buzelis, no one in that group possesses the upside Essengue does. Still, the Bulls don't seem too eager to thrust the No. 12 pick into immediate action against NBA competition, writes Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times.
"We’re not going to put high expectations on what’s going to happen,” Karnisovas said, per Cowley. "We’re just going to see how [Essengue] does the rest of training camp and how he does in the preseason. We’ll make those decisions then."
Said Donovan: "He’s going to have to get better with his strength; he’s going to have to get better guarding the ball one-on-one. I think, as young as Essengue is, this is going to be a process for him."
There's a template for the rookie to follow, though. Buzelis didn't start until Feb. 5 last year and only averaged 14.0 minutes through his first 49 games as Donovan brought him along slowly. Essengue is behind where Buzelis was in his development, but depending on how the season plays out, the 18-year-old might see some time with the big club in the Spring. Until then, he'll likely get his feet wet with the organization's G League affiliate, the Windy City Bulls.