The latest Chicago Bulls news for Oct. 5, including Nikola Vucevic's response to offseason trade rumors and what fans can expect out of Noa Essengue in his rookie campaign.
An already clear emphasis on physicality becomes even more apparent
It's no surprise that everyone in the organization, from top to bottom, is screaming for the Bulls to be a much more physical group in 2025-26. It's one thing to be poor defensively -- Chicago's roster is mostly devoid of talent on that end -- but it's another to be out-hustled, which is exactly what happened to head coach Billy Donovan's team last season.
The Bulls were a bottom-four squad in deflections (27th), loose balls recovered (29th), charges drawn (27th) and contested shots (28th). Donovan, team builder Arturas Karnisovas, Matas Buzelis and newcomer Isaac Okoro have already commented on the need to develop a backbone.
Count Zach Collins among that group, who seems positive that a switch has flipped after last year ended with a drubbing at the hands of the Miami Heat.
"We were playing so well and we were so confident and we finally found something with some momentum (at the end of last season), and then it kind of ended the way it did because, you could probably point to physicality," Collins said per the Bulls' X account. "The coaches are setting a good tone (in training camp), but I think the players have done a good job realizing that that's one of the things we got to shore up."
Nikola Vucevic asked about offseason trade rumors. Again.
Vucevic found himself at the center of trade speculation this summer, and the veteran big man recognizes that his time in Chicago is coming to an end, per Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times (h/t Hoops Rumors). But not yet. And he's totally fine with that.
"I had good communication with the front office throughout the summer," Vucevic said. "There were many rumors, different kinds. I always say it’s part of the job I’m in, we’re all in, and it comes with the territory. If a trade would have happened, it would have happened. It didn’t, and I’m glad to be here."
The Bulls will count on Vucevic, who's entering the final year of a three-year, $60 million pact, to stay healthy and productive this season. That's not an ideal place to be with a center who's nearing 1,000 career games played as he turns 35 years old.
Noa Essengue's rookie role has been obvious all along
Chicago nabbed Essengue with the No. 12 pick in June's draft with the understanding that he was raw and would need time to adjust to the NBA. While fans would love to get a glimpse of the potential wing tandem of the future with the 18-year-old Frenchman playing alongside Buzelis, it doesn't seem that will be the case, per Cowley, who believes Essengue will spend most of his rookie season in the G League with the Windy City Bulls.
"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,” Donovan iterated of the youngest player in the 2025 draft class. “I think as young as Essengue is, this is going to be a process for him."
The upside of an Essengue-Buzelis tandem is tantalizing, but it doesn't seem like we'll see much of it in 2025-26.