In a world where the Los Angeles Lakers decided to pay center Walker Kessler $32.4 million per year through 2029 and restricted free agent center Jalen Duren reportedly is asking for at least $40 million per year as his next contract price tag, there’s value in Bulls fans paying attention to even the more nuanced news details that emerge across the NBA when it comes to the center position.
Case in point, Houston Rockets center Alperen Sengun became a Rockets media scrum talking point when the franchise’s general manager Rafael Stone spoke on a two-week visit he made to Sengun’s native Turkey to spend offseason time with the center.
Stone’s reasoning behind the trip isn’t problematic, yet it also is not completely innocuous. An implication that could be drawn from Stone’s comments about his Sengun trip is that Stone and the Rockets’ starting center have communication issues to work out.
Sengun is one season into his five-year, $185 million contract, which has a player option on the final year of the deal, the 2029-30 NBA season.
If Sengun is presumably a long-term Rockets roster fixture and, at the same time, communications issues are an offseason agenda item Sengun is pressuring the Rockets front office to address, the question should be asked - is everything ok between the Houston Rockets and Alperen Sengun?
If the answer is no, then the Chicago Bulls should make themselves an agenda item on Alperen Sengun’s NBA future, which could give the Bulls’ rebuild a solid liftoff.
Alperen Sengun’s pros
Sengun, a two-time NBA All-Star, knows how to create offense for himself and others with averages of 20.1 points per game and 5.4 assists per game over his immediately three previous NBA seasons, including the 2025-26 NBA season, according to Basketball Reference.
An emergence of defensive versatility in Sengun’s game was acknowledged early in the 2025-26 NBA season by Rockets head coach Ime Udoka.
In Ime Udoka first season at times he would take out Alperen Sengun at the end of close games to put in a more defensive lineup.
— Lachard Binkley (@BinkleyHoops) November 18, 2025
Over that’s two seasons Sengun has improved on the defensive end and now is making big defensive plays just like he did against Orlando late in the… pic.twitter.com/wBWgA2lemg
However, there are limitations to how much defensive versatility Sengun can contribute depending on his matchup, which received even-handed criticism from Udoka midway through the 2025-26 NBA season.
Ime Udoka was asked about Alperen Sengun getting hunted on defense in pick and rolls in the last two games: "It's been the case since I've been here. So no different there." pic.twitter.com/s69Ul0YUQF
— ClutchFans (@clutchfans) February 6, 2026
Alperen Sengun’s cons
Beyond defense, there are stronger limitations in Sengun’s game, predominantly Sengun’s shooting away from the rim. From three-point range, Sengun has posted a 28.1% three-point percentage on 1.4 career three-point attempts per game. As a free-throw shooter, Sengun is a career 69.9% free-throw shooter.
Given Sengun’s position, he leaves a lot to be desired as a rebounder, as he’s only averaged double-digit rebounds for a season once in his five-year NBA career.
Overall, Sengun’s cons are definitely limitations that would present roster construction challenges to the Bulls if they were to find themselves in a position to acquire the center.
Sengun's offensive juice may be enough for the Bulls to be better off in their rebuild by acquiring a big like him and slotting him into a center rotation with backups who do different things, as the Rockets have done with Steven Adams' presence in the Rockets' center rotation.
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