Free Noa.

[Red Larrivee]

I wonder if people are second guessing being in favor of drafting a complete project in a class where there appears to be more NBA ready talent than usual in the lottery. This was my main fear.

I'm not opposed to Essengue playing, but I saw nothing in preseason that made me think he's actually ready to play. He looked lost most of the time. And that's okay; it's what I expected. He's 18 years old, making the transition to the NBA. And it's not like he's a prodigy or something, or was playing against crazy competition in his league.

And when Coby and Collins come back? I just don't see it. I trust that Donovan will play him when it's right.

[dougthonus]

I wonder if people are second guessing being in favor of drafting a complete project in a class where there appears to be more NBA ready talent than usual in the lottery. This was my main fear.

I'm not opposed to Essengue playing, but I saw nothing in preseason that made me think he's actually ready to play. He looked lost most of the time. And that's okay; it's what I expected. He's 18 years old, making the transition to the NBA. And it's not like he's a prodigy or something, or was playing against crazy competition in his league.

And when Coby and Collins come back? I just don't see it. I trust that Donovan will play him when it's right.

I don't mind taking a project based on where the Bulls are, but I do mind that they took this project over #22 + the higher of two unprotected 1sts next year from NOP/MIL which project into a higher pick next year in what will likely be a similarly strong (or stronger) class.

Like if you're going to take a gap year on Noa, you might as well have taken that #22 and gotten a guy whom will be as good or better a prospect as Noa will be next year, while also having 4 years on the rookie deal AND another pick this year.

[Dan Z]

I wonder if people are second guessing being in favor of drafting a complete project in a class where there appears to be more NBA ready talent than usual in the lottery. This was my main fear.

I'm not opposed to Essengue playing, but I saw nothing in preseason that made me think he's actually ready to play. He looked lost most of the time. And that's okay; it's what I expected. He's 18 years old, making the transition to the NBA. And it's not like he's a prodigy or something, or was playing against crazy competition in his league.

And when Coby and Collins come back? I just don't see it. I trust that Donovan will play him when it's right.

Noa played against grown men in Germany and his development is important for the Bulls going forward. My take is that he should get some (all?) of the minutes that Terry and Phillips are currently getting because they're not the future of the team. If, over time, he continues to look bad then you decide what to do at that point.

[GoBlue72391]

We need to decide if we are actually invested in Dalen Terry and Julian Phillips' future here. If not, we might as well give those 6-10 mins to Essengue. If Okoro keeps **** the bed, then that's another 20-25 mins up for grabs --- although we have to factor in Coby as well.

I don't think Essengue is anything special as a prospect; solid athleticism, decent size/length, he's clearly lacking in skills right now and he'll need to gain a lot of weight and strength. He's more of a lateral athlete than a vertical athlete.

I don't see star/superstar ceiling there, unless he improves his skills considerably, which is possible but probably not likely. But even so, he should be getting all of Terry's/Phillips' minutes because they have no future here while Essengue could become a good role player/solid starter/key bench player.

Terry and Phillips seem destined for fringe roster status, so I don't see the point in giving them minutes over Essengue.

[Red Larrivee]

I wonder if people are second guessing being in favor of drafting a complete project in a class where there appears to be more NBA ready talent than usual in the lottery. This was my main fear.

I'm not opposed to Essengue playing, but I saw nothing in preseason that made me think he's actually ready to play. He looked lost most of the time. And that's okay; it's what I expected. He's 18 years old, making the transition to the NBA. And it's not like he's a prodigy or something, or was playing against crazy competition in his league.

And when Coby and Collins come back? I just don't see it. I trust that Donovan will play him when it's right.

Noa played against grown men in Germany and his development is important for the Bulls going forward. My take is that he should get some (all?) of the minutes that Terry and Phillips are currently getting because they're not the future of the team. If, over time, he continues to look bad then you decide what to do at that point.

I'm not disagreeing with you. What I'm saying is that I trust that they'll play him when he's ready, and he simply just may not be ready right now. It doesn't mean Terry or Phillips are better (even though both played well situationally). It's more of just making sure Essengue is in the right place.

[Jcool0]

He is the only lottery pick to have zero regular season minutes so far. We can all look at how Matas was slowly brought along and say that worked out. But i saw plenty of times Matas was the best players on the court and Billy would just ignore him in the 2nd half. So i am reluctant to say this slow play is a good strategy. Matas is good because he lives for basketball, not because Billy would bench him for one error (that he let other worse players play through).

[Dan Z]

I wonder if people are second guessing being in favor of drafting a complete project in a class where there appears to be more NBA ready talent than usual in the lottery. This was my main fear.

I'm not opposed to Essengue playing, but I saw nothing in preseason that made me think he's actually ready to play. He looked lost most of the time. And that's okay; it's what I expected. He's 18 years old, making the transition to the NBA. And it's not like he's a prodigy or something, or was playing against crazy competition in his league.

And when Coby and Collins come back? I just don't see it. I trust that Donovan will play him when it's right.

Noa played against grown men in Germany and his development is important for the Bulls going forward. My take is that he should get some (all?) of the minutes that Terry and Phillips are currently getting because they're not the future of the team. If, over time, he continues to look bad then you decide what to do at that point.

I'm not disagreeing with you. What I'm saying is that I trust that they'll play him when he's ready, and he simply just may not be ready right now. It doesn't mean Terry or Phillips are better (even though both played well situationally). It's more of just making sure Essengue is in the right place.

Fair enough.

I bet Terry and Phillips are probably better right now because of age/experience, but think that Noa should get minutes to gain experience. Sitting on the bench doesn't do much.

Hopefully you're right that eventually he will get minutes as the season goes on.

[Chi town]

I don’t think Noa will see the floor outside mop up mins until at least game 20.

We are that deep and I think JP’s athleticism will play. He looks more aggressive and stronger. If his 3 ball goes in he could be in the rotation even after Collins comes back.