Bulls Notes: Expiring Contracts, Defense, Queen, Essengue, Collins
This season will go a long way toward shaping the future of the Bulls, who could have as many as eight free agents next summer, writes Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times (subscription required). Nikola Vucevic, Zach Collins, Coby White, Kevin Huerter, Ayo Dosunmu, Jevon Carter and Dalen Terry all have expiring contracts, while Chicago holds a $2.4MM team option on Julian Phillips for next season.
According to Cowley, coach Billy Donovan has been emphasizing to his players since training camp that they have a common goal in helping one another have the brightest possible NBA future.
‘‘We’ve got eight guys on expiring contracts,’’ Donovan said. ‘‘They’re all tied together. Their futures and careers are in each other’s hands. You get a player that’s young, that’s in their first or second year, they’re looking down the road and thinking, ‘Fifteen years is forever.’ Vooch is sitting there saying, ‘Hey, this went by like that.’ So I do think that there’s an urgency by Vooch, a mindset, a mentality.’’
Cowley suggests that urgency helps to explain Vucevic’s weekend comments after a one-point win over Washington when he said the team was “very soft” for most of the game. Cowley notes that Vucevic and his family like living in Chicago, and the front office could have interest in re-signing the 35-year-old center if the season goes well. He adds that executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas has displayed loyalty to Donovan and much of the roster, and several players could receive multiyear contracts if the Bulls are able to exceed expectations.
‘‘They have to understand the urgency because they all have something to do with each other’s success and they all have something to do with each other’s future,’’ Donovan said. ‘‘I think the moment you get out of yourself and start thinking, ‘What can I do to help the man next to me? What can I do to help the man on the court?’ that’s when you find out the guys that are really committed.’’
There’s more from Chicago:
- The Bulls’ defensive issues have become more apparent during their recent downturn, Cowley states in a separate story. A lack of size and physicality was glaring in games against Washington and New Orleans, and Donovan believes it can only be overcome with a team-wide approach. “For our team, maybe outside Isaac Okoro, we don’t have one guy right now where you can say, ‘This guy is a defensive stopper, this is what this guy hangs his hat on.’ We don’t have that,” he said. “So we have to do it collectively. It’s not one guy’s fault; it’s all of us. It’s the coaches, the players, we all have to do it. We just don’t have the type of guys that you’re going to put on a guy, and he’s going to shut them down.”
- The Bulls had serious interest in Pelicans rookie big man Derik Queen with the 12th pick in this year’s draft, Cowley relays in another story. They opted for French forward Noa Essengue, who has spent most of the season in the G League, because they viewed him as a better fit for their up-tempo style. “When the draft actually came, there’s things that happen in that moment,” Donovan explained. “You’ve got five minutes to make that pick. I think (the front office) was looking at Noa as an opportunity long-term — ‘This guy fits the way we would like to play.’ I did not get from the front office or even the scouts that (Queen wasn’t) a fit. (But) I think they thought the way we were playing, Noa, maybe from an upside standpoint, another athletic wing, a long defender, (was) maybe something we needed defensively.”
- Collins is expected to begin participating in full-court practices later this week as he moves closer to making his season debut, Cowley adds. The team is hoping to have Collins, who has been sidelined with an injured left hand, back on the court by early December.
Bulls Notes: Buzelis, Essengue, Smith, Vucevic
Matas Buzelis has embraced the physicality and gritty style of play demanded by the Bulls and head coach Billy Donovan, writes Joe Cowley for the Chicago Sun-Times. The transformation began in the offseason, when Buzelis added 10 pounds of muscle in preparation for stepping into a starring role for Chicago.
“I said before the season started that this would be a great year of growth for him because he’s going to see things he hasn’t seen his rookie season,” Donovan said. “The thing I love about Matas is he leans into it and he’s eager to improve.”
The second-year forward has raised his averages is nearly every meaningful category so far in his second NBA season. He’s currently contributing 14.1 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks in 27.8 minutes per game, and he’s embracing the increased focus that comes from his newfound status on the team.
“Most of the time the best defender is guarding me and that puts a target on my back,” Buzelis said. “I like that, that’s how I’m going to get better and stride forward.”
We have more from the Bulls:
- After being selected 12th overall in the 2025 draft, Noa Essengue finally made his NBA debut in the Bulls’ 16th game of the season. The patience he displayed in waiting for his chance to take the floor extended to his first stint on the floor, according to Julia Poe of the Chicago Tribune, who notes that a single missed field goal represented Essengue’s only contribution to the box score in four minutes of action. Still, he wasn’t discouraged by the outing or by the time it took to get there. “It was nice to get on the court with my teammates since I’ve worked two or three months now,” Essengue said. “I just enjoyed it. I know I don’t got a lot of time so I just tried to enjoy every moment.” Even that brief appearance provided Donovan with some insights to take away. “I’d like to see him get his motor going a little bit more,” the Bulls’ coach said, “but I was happy I could throw him in there for a few minutes.”
- Donovan hinted that Jalen Smith will likely be in the rotation even when Zach Collins returns from wrist surgery, reports Joel Lorenzi of The Athletic, who says (via Twitter) that Donovan compared it to how the Spurs and Cavaliers use their big men. “We may have to look at two bigs together some, or playing three bigs rotationally,” Donovan said. “I think we gotta find what’s best to play all three.” Smith has performed well for the 9-7 Bulls, averaging 10.1 points and 5.9 rebounds in just 16.4 minutes per night while shooting 37.1% from three.
- The Bulls came out of Saturday’s game against the Wizards with a one-point win, but Nikola Vucevic was unimpressed by the team’s mentality, writes Lorenzi for The Athletic. “For three quarters, we were very soft,” Vucevic said. “We gave no resistance. We didn’t do anything that we talked about. Just played really soft. It was really bad… I don’t think we understand that it’s just not sustainable to play this way.” Buzelis, whose celebration of the victory irked Vucevic during a post-game interview (Twitter video link), conceded his teammate’s point when he spoke to reporters a little later. “He believes that we should beat that team by a lot more, and I totally agree with him,” Buzelis said. “He has every right to be upset. We have to be better, for sure.”
Central Notes: Giannis, Pacers, Ball, Porter, Essengue
Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo sat out Wednesday’s game vs. Charlotte due to what the team referred to as patellar tendinopathy affecting his left knee. However, speaking to reporters prior to the game, head coach Doc Rivers suggested that Antetokounmpo’s absence was more about managing his workload during a tough part of the schedule rather than an injury the team is seriously concerned about.
“What are we, five games in seven days?” Rivers said (Twitter links via Eric Nehm of The Athletic). “It’s just a lot. And we looked at this before it all started, this was the game, if we were going to sit him, just because it was right in the middle and it gives him four days off.
“This one was a little rough because we weren’t sure. I know I wanted him to (sit). I asked him before (shootaround), trying to talk him into not playing, which is rare for me to do. But it just felt like health-wise, this is the right decision.”
Antetokounmpo is off to an excellent start this fall, averaging 33.4 points, 11.9 rebounds, 6.2 assists, and 1.3 blocks in 32.9 minutes per game through his first 10 outings. Wednesday’s contest was the second he has missed this season, and while Milwaukee picked up a victory without its star forward vs. Golden State on October 30, the team dropped last night’s game in Charlotte, falling to 7-5 on the season.
We have more from around the Central:
- The Pacers had some players back from injuries on Tuesday, including point guard T.J. McConnell making his season debut. However, the club gave up a season-high 152 points in a blowout loss to Utah, prompting McConnell to refer to the defensive effort as “pitiful,” per Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star (subscription required). “We just have to be better in terms of fight, in terms of pride,” McConnell said. “That’s really not gonna get it done.” The defending Eastern Conference champions are now 1-10 to open the season.
- With Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell among the Cavaliers‘ regulars inactive on Wednesday in Miami, Lonzo Ball earned his second start of the season and reserve guard Craig Porter Jr. played a season-high 32 minutes. Fred Katz of The Athletic looks at how Ball is fitting in with the Cavs so far this season, while Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com (subscription required) covers Porter’s “heroic” night — the third-year guard had 19 points and nine assists, with a game-high +21 on/off court mark, in the victory over the Heat.
- Bulls rookie forward Noa Essengue had a big G League debut on Tuesday, scoring 28 points in 29 minutes for the Windy City Bulls, according to Julie Poe of The Chicago Tribune, who shares five takeaways from Essengue’s performance. However, Essengue remains an odd man out in Chicago’s frontcourt rotation, so this won’t change the team’s development plan for him, says Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. “I think sometimes you can get preoccupied with the scoring aspect of it,” head coach Billy Donovan said. “I know he had a big night offensively, but if he’s getting out in transition, getting to the backboard, slashing, cuts, that’s great. I think we all know the shooting part of it needs to continue to develop, his body needs to continue to develop, but can he get things into the game we’re going to need him to?”
Bulls Notes: Giddey, Comeback Win, White, Essengue
After reeling off five consecutive wins to open the season, the Bulls lost in New York on Sunday and appeared to be on the verge of a second straight loss on Tuesday vs. Philadelphia. However, as Jamal Collier of ESPN details, Chicago overcame a 24-point deficit to defeat the Sixers by a score of 113-111, completing the largest NBA comeback so far this season.
Josh Giddey, whose restricted free agency dragged on for nearly three months this offseason before he signed a new four-year, $100MM contract with the Bulls, was the driving force in the victory. He led the team in points (29), rebounds (15), and assists (12), making him the first Bull since Michael Jordan to register triple-doubles in back-to-back games.
Giddey admitted it was “cool” to accomplish a feat last achieved by Jordan, per Kyle Williams of The Chicago Sun-Times, but made it clear that the “individual stuff” was secondary to winning the game.
“Tonight was one of the best wins that I’ve ever been a part of,” he said, according to Collier. “Just in terms of how bad we were down that early in the third. And to gut that one out and dig ourselves out of the hole that we did was unbelievable.”
Veteran center Nikola Vucevic, who hit the game-winning shot to secure the victory for the Bulls, was impressed with the team’s resilience but stressed that he and his teammates can’t get into the habit of giving up 45 points in the first quarter.
“It’s important that we understand this is not how you can become a good team by getting down 20 and then waking up and start to finally play,” Vucevic said. “We have to play better from the beginning. This game was a great example of what we can be when we play the way we need to. So hopefully we can use this as a good learning experience for us and understand that we have to do this for 48 minutes.”
Here’s more on the Bulls:
- Chicago is off to a 6-1 start without guard Coby White, who was the team’s leading scorer in the second half last season. According to Julia Poe of The Chicago Tribune (subscription required), head coach Billy Donovan said that White (left calf strain) is still “a couple weeks away” from playing in a game. “I watched him today — he is sprinting, running, cutting, jumping, trying to do everything completely full speed,” Donovan said on Tuesday. “He’s felt really, really good. … This has just taken a while. I think you can see around the league, there’s a lot of guys dealing with these calves right now. It’s just the way it is.”
- Seven of the 15 players on the Bulls’ standard roster are in contract years, but the team has bought in so far on Donovan’s call for a team-first approach, writes Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. “Right when training camp started, I addressed of all this, because we have seven or eight guys that are in the same situation, and I think it’s very easy if you’re not in the rotation or you’re not playing well to start to press, start to think about yourself,” Donovan said. “There’s a level of unselfishness [we needed] where you can start thinking about others — other than yourself, certainly — when your situation is uncertain going forward. … Like I told those guys, [free agency] will get here in July. Why worry or think about that when you have things in front of you now? We don’t have a team that can [isolate] or guys just go get theirs. We’ve got to rely on each other.”
- After spending three days in the G League with the Windy City Bulls, rookie forward Noa Essengue was recalled to the NBA on Wednesday, per the team. Chicago doesn’t play again until Friday, so Essengue may have the opportunity to practice with the NBA club this week. As Donovan told reporters when Essengue was initially assigned to the G League on Sunday, the team had planned since the draft to take a patient approach with him. “This is a guy at 18 years old who has a huge runway in front of him to get better and to improve, but we’re going to have to invest in his development,” Donovan said, per Cowley. “It may not be with us. It may be going back and forth between us and the G League. Those were things discussed back in June.”
Bulls’ Noa Essengue Expected To Spend Extended Time In G League
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.
Bulls Notes: Buzelis, Donovan, Vucevic, Expectations
Bulls forward Matas Buzelis has set lofty goals — including making an All-Defensive team and winning the Most Improved Player award — for his second season, but he’s not only interested in individual accolades and says he’s willing to do whatever is necessary for the team to be successful, according to Julia Poe of The Chicago Tribune.
“I think I can be a go-to guy,” Buzelis said. “But at the end of the day it comes down to whatever the team needs to win the games. The NBA now, it’s positionless. So whoever has a heater, whoever’s playing extremely well, that’s who we’re going to go to. It’s a team sport. If it’s my night, it’s my night. If it’s not, I’m going to have to do the dirty work and rebound, defend as hard as possible, do the little things to impact the game.”
As Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times writes, head coach Billy Donovan admits he was hard on Buzelis during his rookie campaign. Rather than be upset by being pulled from games for his mistakes, Buzelis accepted his imperfections and remained driven yet humble — an approach Donovan thinks will serve the 21-year-old well, both now and going forward.
“It’s about Matas keeping himself grounded and driven,” Donovan said. “He has not arrived. He just hasn’t. And that’s just the truth. And I love Matas and think he’s got an unbelievable runway to be an outstanding player in this league if he keeps his drive and his motivation and doesn’t think he’s arrived. The great ones are always driven, regardless of what’s going on around them.”
Joel Lorenzi of The Athletic and Drew Stevens of The Bigs Media (Twitter links) share additional quotes from Donovan looking to temper expectations for Buzelis as well as areas of growth he hopes to see from the Chicago native, who was selected 11th overall in the 2024 draft.
Here’s more on the Bulls:
- While much of the media attention has been on Buzelis lately, veteran center Nikola Vucevic was the team’s top performer in Wednesday’s season-opening win over Detroit, per Lorenzi of The Athletic, finishing with 28 points and 14 rebounds and at least temporarily putting to rest any lingering concerns about how the 35-year-old might fit as the elder statesman on a young roster.
- Poe of The Chicago Tribune shares her takeaways from Wednesday’s victory, including that No. 12 overall pick Noa Essengue was completely out of the rotation.
- In a column for The Chicago Tribune, Paul Sullivan argues the Bulls can exceed expectations, be a fun team to watch, and win around 44 games this season if they play better against their Central Division rivals, perform better at home, and “do the little things that win games.”
Central Notes: Holland, Pistons Offense, Essengue, Vucevic
Pistons second-year player Ron Holland added 15 pounds this offseason, in part because he might get some minutes at power forward behind Tobias Harris. Holland appeared in 81 games last season at the wing positions.
“That’s where the weight-gain things come in,” Holland told Omari Sankofa II of the Detroit Free Press. “Whatever position they need me to go in and play, I’m ready for it, whether it’s the one, two, three or four. I feel like if I go sub Tobias and I go guard some fours, I’ll be prepared for that.”
Here’s more from the Central Division:
- The Pistons finished last season second in the NBA in fast-break points per game (18.5) and seventh in points off turnovers (19), Hunter Patterson of The Athletic notes. Now, coach J.B. Bickerstaff wants to parlay his defense into even more dynamic plays on the offensive end. “There’s a way that you can defend and still be explosive, and that’s what we aim to do,” Bickerstaff said. “What we want to do is make sure that our identity is on the defensive end. Then you can go from a great defensive team to an explosive offensive team.”
- Noa Essengue, the 12th pick of the draft by the Bulls, is just 18 years old and will need some time to develop before he can make an impact, according to Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times. Essengue may wind up spending much of the season with the G League Windy City Bulls. “We’re not going to put high expectations on what’s going to happen,” executive VP of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas said. “We’re just going to see how he does in the rest of training camp and how he does in the preseason. We’ll make those decisions then.”
- Nikola Vucevic‘s three-year, $60MM contract expires at the end of this season. The Bulls center was included in plenty of trade rumors this summer but didn’t get moved. He was in steady contact with the front office throughout the offseason, Cowley writes. ‘‘I had good communication with the front office throughout the summer,’’ Vucevic said. ‘‘As you guys all know, 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. I didn’t pay too much attention. Maybe before the draft [in June] because that’s when I thought maybe something could happen, but overall I tried to focus on the offseason, my family and the international stuff. It’s something that’s out of my control, so I didn’t pay attention to it too much.”
Bulls Notes: Essengue, Buzelis, Giddey, Primo
After Friday’s disastrous Summer League debut, Bulls rookie Noa Essengue looked more comfortable with the level of competition on Saturday, writes Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times.
The 12th overall pick was overmatched in his first game, scoring five points in nearly 25 minutes, posting a minus-32 rating and saying he was “surprised” by the level of physicality he encountered. Although he didn’t dominate in today’s loss to Sacramento, Essengue probably calmed a few nerves throughout the organization with 12 points and 10 rebounds in about 19 minutes before being pulled from the game with an injury.
“Definitely better,” Summer League coach Billy Donovan III said. “He definitely wasn’t thinking as much, kept the dribbles down and I thought he was decisive. I think he’ll get better and better. They’re calling it a knee contusion right now, so he’ll get treatment on Sunday and see how he responds to it.”
Essengue appeared to hurt his right leg while working his way over a screen in the third quarter, according to K.C. Johnson of Chicago Sports Network (Twitter link). Donovan said team trainers indicated there was knee-to-knee contact, adds Joel Lorenzi of The Athletic (Twitter link).
“I don’t know, I just took a hit,” Essengue said (Twitter link). “We’re gonna see how it feels the next few days. Go through treatment and all that.”
There’s more on the Bulls:
- Matas Buzelis seems more like a veteran in his second Summer League experience, Cowley adds in a separate story. In addition to being bigger and stronger than he was at the end of last season, Buzelis has become a more vocal leader with his teammates. He sat out today’s game after hurting his wrist by dunking the ball “a little too hard” on Friday, but he told reporters that he’ll be ready when the Bulls return to action on Monday, per Johnson (Twitter link).
- Josh Giddey is in Las Vegas, but he hasn’t been seen at either of the Bulls’ games, tweets Jake Fischer of The Stein Line. Fischer views it as a sign that negotiations on a new contract aren’t going well. Giddey and his representatives are reportedly hoping for $30MM a year, but the market for restricted free agents has been dormant, leaving him without much leverage.
- Joshua Primo, a 2021 lottery pick, was hoping to revive his career with the Bulls’ Summer League team, but left foot soreness prevented him from making the trip to Las Vegas, according to Johnson (Twitter link). The 22-year-old swingman signed an Exhibit 10 contract with Chicago last October but didn’t make the regular season roster and didn’t play at all during a brief stint with the Windy City Bulls in the G League.
Bulls Sign Noa Essengue To Rookie Contract
The Bulls have officially signed their first-round pick, announcing (via Twitter) that forward Noa Essengue has finalized his rookie scale contract.
The No. 12 overall pick is expected to receive a four-year, $25.33MM deal that is fully guaranteed for the first two seasons, with team options on the third and fourth years. He’ll make $5.43MM as a rookie in 2025/26.
A 6’10” forward from France, Essengue signed with Ratiopharm Ulm in July 2023. He spent most of his first season with Ulm’s developmental team, but played a key role for the German club this past season, averaging 12.4 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 1.4 steals in 23.7 minutes per game across 18 EuroCup appearances.
As the second-youngest player in the 2025 draft class, Essengue may not play a significant role for the Bulls right away, but the team was pleased to land him at No. 12. General manager Marc Eversley said after the draft that the Frenchman was the best player available at that spot and “fits the style of play that we want to play.”
Summer League Notes: Bulls, Kawamura, Kings, Brink, Jent
The Bulls officially announced their 2025 summer league roster on Thursday afternoon (via Twitter). The group is headlined by recent lottery picks Matas Buzelis and Noa Essengue, plus two-way players Jahmir Young and Emanuel Miller and No. 55 overall pick Lachlan Olbrich, who is expected to sign a two-way deal with Chicago.
The Bulls’ summer league squad also features a handful of unrestricted free agents who have NBA experience. Japanese point guard Yuki Kawamura, who spent 2024/25 (his rookie campaign) on a two-way deal with the Grizzlies, is part of the team, as is ex-Grizzlies forward Maozinha Pereira. Former lottery pick Joshua Primo and guard Javon Freeman-Liberty are on the 14-man roster as well.
Windy City Bulls head coach Billy Donovan III will lead the summer league team for the second consecutive year, tweets K.C. Johnson of Chicago Sports Network.
Here are few more notes related to summer league:
- Both of the Kings‘ draft picks — first-rounder Nique Clifford and second-rounder Maxime Raynaud — will compete in summer league action, GM Scott Perry said today at a press conference (Twitter link via Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee). Kings head coach Doug Christie said assistant Dipesh Mistry will be the summer league team’s top coach, as Anderson relays (via Twitter).
- Jordan Brink, an assistant on former head coach Tom Thibodeau‘s staff, will be head coach of the Knicks‘ summer league team, reports James L. Edwards III of The Athletic (Twitter link). According to Edwards, Brink was “largely responsible” for New York’s impressive success rate on challenges last season. Given that he’s leading the summer league squad, it seems pretty likely that Brink will be a member of new coach Mike Brown‘s staff, though that’s just informed speculation and hasn’t been confirmed.
- Assistant Chris Jent will serve as head coach of the Hornets‘ summer league club, per Rod Boone of The Charlotte Observer (Twitter video link). Jent is a longtime NBA assistant and former player who joined Charles Lee‘s staff last year.