Bulls forward Noa Essengue, the 12th overall pick in the 2025 draft, won’t travel to New York for Sunday’s game against the Knicks, head coach Billy Donovan said today (Twitter links via Joel Lorenzi of The Athletic and K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Sports Network).
Instead, the 18-year-old will be assigned to the G League on Saturday to begin practicing and playing for the Windy City Bulls. As Lorenzi notes, Chicago’s NBAGL affiliate is in the early stages of training camp — Windy City’s season opener is next Saturday, October 8.
According to Johnson, Essengue is likely to spend extended time with Windy City to open his rookie season. The French forward has yet to make his NBA regular season debut for the Bulls, who are off to a 4-0 start.
Essengue, who played professionally last year in Germany, didn’t look NBA-ready in Summer League action in Las Vegas or during the preseason, so it’s not surprising that he’ll need to continue to work to adjust to the speed and physicality of the league.
Never understand how you pass on Queen and Sorber.
For a SF who won’t be ready for 5 yrs. And a team full of SFs …..
Knicks not playing any D. All this talk about a new offense. When it’s their D. That needed the most work. Bulls hitting their shots spanking the Knicks right now.
I wonder if Bulls fan still don’t want Giddey. When his shot gets consistent like tonight. Sky is the limit for him.
Al- Just further proof how bad that draft pick was. If the Bulls wanted Essengue they should have traded White and got back in the first round and taken him later to play in the G League. They should have taken a guy who could help them this year. 5-0 Notwithstanding. Later this year it will probably come back to bite them.
Maluach, Coward and Murray-Boyles could help, but all of them were taken off the board before Chicago got to pick. Carter Bryant or Sorber could theoretically contribute right away, but who knows.
Anyway, you can probably trade Essengue right now and get a good contributor. But don’t give up on him. The guy is 18 and 6’10 without shoes. I watched him a bit in Germany, he’s more than just a “coordinated tall athletic teenager with no basketball skills or feel”. He can play. He’s not Mo Bamba.
Queen or Sorber. Imagine solid depth at C. Or a real PF in Queen. I am real high on Queen. I believe he can bring back the importance of a true PF. Im not going to pretend I know the Bulls. Watched them enough to see they need a true big. Plus with Vucevic on an expiring deal. With Buzelis growing just don’t get why they would take him.
Vuc is quietly a candidate for an extension in Chicago. He’s playing well, and if they become a playoff team, why wouldn’t he stay? It’s not like OKC is going to sign him.
Essengue is an inch taller than both Queen and Sorber. He plays like a mixed SF-PF, but not because he can’t make power plays. He absolutely can and does. He will post up on a smaller guy, he can finish through contact, he will not hesitate to rise for a dunk, he will get a rebound that others can’t due to his physicality, he will contest shots at the rim. Now, it’ll be a different story in the NBA with its physicality, but he can get there on this level. He has the tools.
His SF comparisons stem from his natural ability to find spaces around the perimeter and inside the arc, so he’s often on the move and makes plays that are associated with 3s. But that’s not a negative, as far as I’m concerned. The players who know how to play without the ball and know how to interpret the space of the floor have always been my favourites. The play without the ball is his strong suit.
He can defend, and he defends with his feet, which is the right way to do it.
Him and Buzelis can be what Banchero and Wagner are for Orlando. And people say he can become a good shooter. He doesn’t have the longest wingspan compared to his height, only +3″. That’s more common among white guys. Even I have +3″ wingspan, and I’m just a normal 6-foot-tall guy from Eastern Europe. But players with not extremely long arms are often good shooters – Curry, Reggie Miller (I believe didn’t have the longest arms), plenty of white guys. He has had stretches where he was knocking it down very confidently.
Chicago are playing well and winning, while Essengue is learning the ropes of NBA basketball. It’s a good place to be.
If by any chance Chicago wanted to move him on, I wouldn’t mind my Wiz trading for him. Wouldn’t mind at all.
Quit talking about Essengue like he is going to turn into some kind of Power asset. He’s a string bean. He’s not going to end up guarding a guy like Porzingis. And he’s 3 to 4 years away from being useful at all. Please stop the nonsense. We get it you like him but come back to reality. Holy crap.
@Unclemike1526
You gotta stop overvaluing American players just because they reach their maturity faster than players in other places around the world, fill out faster and have heavyweight boxer bodies at 18-19.
You gotta look at how somebody actually plays. I will always use this example: Giannis was making the same type of power plays he’s making now when he was a scrawny 18-19 y.o. The way you play determines who you are, not the width of your shoulders or your muscle mass. So be open-minded and watch how Essengue plays, not how skinny he is.
Vuc is playing well, contract yr does that to NBA players lol. All the talk has been they will trade him at TD. But I agree he is making that decision difficult.
Sorber is a 7 footer with true size.imo he is going to be a nice center.
Queen is 6’ 9” 6’ 10”. Also with true size. He was overweight. So is still getting in top shape. He has lost a lot of weight in last year. He has great hands and can shoot. Has girth and strength and knows how to use it. Very good passer. I see a very smart player. I see him as a true PF. His potential is limitless imo. He already has an NBA body. I like him a lot as a true 4. Old school big 4. That can step out and shoot. His passing should make him solid in pick-n-roll.
Esengue could be an athletic 4 one day, Siakam. But Queen is ready now. I seen a little of Esengue. Potential is there. As a Franchise you take the guy that helps you now. Not 5 yrs from now. The Bulls have been drafting and building for years now. And now we wait for this guy. Its the wrong message to team and fans. Imo no way Esengue will be a better pro than Queen.
And Sorber will be a top starting Center in 2-3 yrs. He can be their starting C for next ten yrs. Then you trade Vuc and get good value for hm now. Vuc is not on timeline of Bulls players. Problem with Bulls they can’t decide on a core. Every so many yrs they change it up.
Thankfully, draft combine measurements have been mandatory for every prospect since 2024, and we know the exact height of each player.
Essengue was measured at 6’10 without shoes. Queen and Sorber came in at 6’9.25. Queen is an interesting player. Very creative. I think that some teams didn’t take him because they didn’t know what to do with him.
link to nba.com
Chicago didn’t have a good core previously. So there was nothing to decide on. But now they have Giddey and Buzelis, and that’s what they should work with.
Yeah but it goes back to before Zach lol. You can’t change it up every 3-4 yrs. I am not a fan of their coach either. Even Giddey they weren’t sure to commit on. Look how they handled Williams and Coby.
Queen is a big man. With shoes is a thick 6’ 10. He has soft hands and can shoot. I think he will shoot threes. Truly an inside outside big. That can bang and rebound. He is Malone, Big E type PF only bigger. He also looks like he is getting his body right lol. Can be even more athletic. You put a rim protector like Mitch next to him. You have a serious front line for yrs.
Sorber is a true center to me. He plays big always. Has good center instincts. Still raw but I can see a 2way beast in 3-4 yrs. He is 19 still growing. He is over 6’ 11” in shoes. Has a standing reach of 9’ 1 “. A wing span of 7’ 6”. He is 267 lbs all natural and tight.
Embiid in shoes is 7’ 1”. His standing reach is 9’ 5”
His wingspan is 7’ 5”
I see Maluach and Sorber as true centers. Both can be all stars imo. I’m not bashing Essengue. But imagine Bulls with a true big right now. Add that to Vuc and roster today lol.
Chicago actually have another center in Zach Collins. He’s not a fashionable name, but he plays well within that system. They are missing him way more than Coby White. But Vuc has been excellent, and they are lucky that Smith is giving them good minutes.
But I get what you mean about them having a certain type of big. They wish they had Zubac, but so does every other team in the NBA.
Porzingis will be a free agent next summer, and he’s not ancient at 30. Mitch is a free agent too. Chicago will have cap space. If I’m Chicago, I’d rather use that cap to sign centers (Vuc or Collins will likely be one of them, if not both), re-sign Dosunmu (which they should have done this summer) and some other players, but not Coby White.
I don’t hate their coach. He was working with what he had. Nobody could have coached DeRozan into playing some never-before-seen hard-to-beat style of basketball.
Bust
Knicks give up 135 pts …give up 45/84 FG, 28/35 FT,
All the talk about a new offense. Yet what needed most fixing is their defense. Knicks had 4 players score 20 pts. Bulks had 7 players with double figure pts. And 40 bench points……
The problem last yr with Knicks was their team D and their bench. Looks like it still is tonight against Bulls.
Watching last two gms, loses. What has crossed my mind the most. Is this doesn’t happen with Thibs here.
Strange pick considering the Bulls squad and needs.
Josh Giddey is playing man. Balling
Always liked him. He has great vision and PG instincts. His shot is coming around. Which was a big knock on him. His FT shooting still needs work. Giddey has positional size. Which is huge for me. At 23 yrs old it looks like the game is slowing down for him. Too many folks and teams. Give up on players at a young age. I understand the business gets in the way at times. Giddey is a good example that you have to wait on 19 yr olds. A man doesn’t even mature into his body till 22-24 yrs old. I bet Bulls are feeling real good about signing Giddey now. After hardballing him for months……. Good for you Josh 👏👏
2025-26 stats — 32.6 mins, .455% 3pt, .491% 2pt, 7.6/15.8 FGA, .706% FT, 22 pts, 8 ast, 8.8 reb, 1 stl
Yeap, an excellent player.
I’m a little invested personally in Giddey, my first comment here was in summer 2024, and I was saying that Giddey, Kuminga and Avdija were 3 young players I was expecting to break out.
Now, Kuminga didn’t play well last season and started showing out this year, and little did I know that my Wiz would trade away Deni a couple of weeks later…
But Giddey was the safest bet among them 3. If he can be almost as good as Cade, but on half the money, that’ll make it so much easier to build a team. Chicago should have given him 5 years fully guaranteed with no team or player options. Just like OKC did with Shai and Houston did with Jabari. The FO should know their players better than anyone else. You see them in practice, you have your projections, you have insight that others don’t. And if you believe in players and have the opportunity to sign them to a good contract, you gotta do it. And don’t mess around like that 1+1 that GS signed Kuminga to.
4/100 fully guaranteed is still an excellent deal for Giddey, but 5 years would have been perfect.
That’s my point exactly on Bulls. They don’t commit. Last year Vuc was going to be traded. Now who knows cause he is playing. Coby is now the guy who can be traded. They didn’t really back Giddey till late. I mean, it could be to keep price down. I get that. Vuc is 34 so why would you sign him. Unless its a sign-n-trade. I get Buzelis and Essengue can make a nice tandem one day. But as good as Buzelis is looking now. Its way to early to commit to him. Imo Queen will be better than both of them. See to me. I see this as the coach new system. Since trying it with DeM and Zach. Going small and more perimeter like Thunder team. And the so called new NBA. For all that talk and copying the new top teams and systems (Warriors). Thunder don’t win if they don’t sign IHart. A true big. Not only plays big. But protects Chet (forwards) and allows him to flourish. Imo Bulls seem a little mixed up. Like I said this goes back to the Jimmy trade for Zach lol.
Here is my thought:
1) Noa isnt ready, he wasn’t going to be ready for the NBA the moment he was drafted. Donovan got the extension to coach Noa up in a year or two.
2) They literally did the same route with Buzelis last year before bringing him along in the 2nd half after the trades were completed.
3) Noa needs a lot of game time and he has the highest ceiling of any player in the draft. AKME believe in ceilings over floors, thats why they select Williams over Hali, Terry over Kessler and now Noa over Queen. I’m not mad at the pick, it’ll just some time to see the investment.
I get that one day 4-5 yrs from now. Buzelis and Essengue can make a nice tandem. I’m just big on Queen. And he works right now. And with Vuc 34 and possibly traded away. I look at Sorber as your Center for next 10 yrs. I would have gone with either to help now.
I was big on Queen since early November. Watched majority of his games on tv. He is skilled no doubt, also he is a terrific passer but I believe he probably isn’t as coach able as Essengue, thats why they prob passed on him. Sorber is nice but at 12 he was a bit of a reach on most boards. He’ll have a nice career, but for a franchise that doesn’t have a real true superstar, I think they are hoping Essengue gets the proper coaching and game minutes to become the steal of this draft, like Buzelis was last year.
OK yeah…. I didn’t look at it like that. Swing more for fences. Still we are talking yrs down the road. You know them better than I do. We will chk out Queen and Sorber (hurt now) next few yrs. We’ll see. I’m really high on Queen.