Bulls rookie Noa Essengue will require surgery to address a left shoulder injury and is expected to miss the remainder of the season, reports K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Sports Network (Twitter link).
The update comes from head coach Billy Donovan, who had previously noted that Essengue suffered the injury, which was initially diagnosed as a shoulder contusion, in a G League contest.
Joel Lorenzi of The Athletic quotes Donovan (via Twitter) as saying that, in terms of recovery timelines, “Usually those things are six to seven months,” and added that the team preferred to address the injury now, rather than have it linger into the offseason.
After being selected 12th in the 2025 draft, Essengue only managed to play six minutes for the Bulls this season, recording one steal and one foul in that time.
He played four games for the Windy City Bulls G League team, where he averaged 23.0 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 2.5 assists in 30.8 minutes per game.
Johnson adds (via Twitter) that Donovan said he had spoken with Essengue after shootaround, and that he was handling the news well.
That draft pick just keeps getting stupider and stupider.
L M F A O I have no words. I give up man.