For the Chicago Bulls, this season is clearly about identifying and developing the team's long-term cornerstones under new head coach Tiago Splitter. It's not completely a rebuild season—at least in the antiquated sense of the term—given the new Draft Lottery rules. But it is a campaign where a premium will be placed on development from Chicago's young pieces.
Players like Caleb Wilson and Matas Buzelis will take up much of the bandwidth on that front. They both have a real chance to be stars of the future for the Bulls, and their ability to work together in the frontcourt while developing their games individually will be the majory storyline to follow this season. But the development, obviously, can't stop there.
The Bulls still have a recent lottery pick, for example, in the fold in Noa Essengue.
It was hard to know what Essengue would be able to show in the preseason for Chicago. He missed virtually the entirety of his rookie campaign with a shoulder injury, and his play in Summer League issued a stark reminder of the strength and physicality he still needs to gain before he's ready to start approaching his ceiling at the NBA level.
But he showed more than enough across his four preseason appearances to believe he's ready to take on a rotational role for this team. That, at the very least, is a strong first step in what will be a pivotal sophomore season for the 6'9" forward.
Noa Essengue may not be ready for a major workload—but he's shown he can handle NBA responsibilities
Coming into the league, Essengue was widely seen as a player with immense physical and archetypal upside for a 3-and-D wing. He had the range, the athleticism, and the package around the rim to be a true offensive force eventually, but there were certainly areas of his game in which his youth showed—including his physicality and his shooting consistency. That's the type of prospect for whom a missed season can be a major blow.
Given the depth the Bulls have in the frontcourt, moreover, there's no guarantee that Essengue maintains a rotational role if he starts to struggle heavily. Both Isaac Okoro and Dailyn Swain will likely take on some minutes at small forward, and Chicago still needs to see what it has in both Leonard Miller and Patrick Williams under this new system.
But if the preseason is any indication, Essengue should be able to claim his spot in that mix out of the gate.
His production, on its own, wasn't eye-popping. Across four games, he averaged 5.5 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 1.5 assists. More concerningly, he shot just 32.5% from the field in that span. But it was the things he was able to do on the margins that truly flashed some of his upside as a rotational player this season.
In the Bull's final preseason outing against the Milwaukee Bucks, Essengue posted seven points on 3-of-5 shooting from the field. Both of his missed field-goal attempts were from beyond the arc, but he looked fluid working the ball into the interior and crafty when working against his defender on his way to the rim. He also posted a steal and a high-feel transition assist just outside of the restricted area to a cutting Miller.
That's not the sort of performance that's going to make Essengue one of the league's most-hyped prospects, especially if his minutes are limited during the regular season. But the biggest thing for Essengue in 2026-27 is to gain confidence in these complementary parts of his game, learning to function on an NBA court not just as a shooter but also as a complete player.
There are obviously still some concerns. He doesn't look particularly confident from beyond the arc, and he still sometimes hesitates on his drives to the basket when there's a defender looming.
But Essengue, plain and simple, needs minutes to realize his potential. He showed enough during the preseason, despite his lackluster production, to get a relatively full complement of those under Splitter.
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