Chicago Bulls select Noa Essengue - #12 overall

[wolffy]

We had to go with a big guy here. There was no obvious choice imo. People think Maluach is gonna be a rim protector but I dont see it. Noa fits with the way the Bulls play in transition. It would be nice if he can develop a 3pt shot tho

[WindyCityBorn]

"Meh". Should have taken Jase Richardson who I've been saying all along.

Noa is poor defensively. He's not good. Anyone here claiming that Noa is good defensively did not do simple minor scouting such as looking at Tankathon's metrics.

Is Noa an immediate impact player? No.

We aren’t looking for him to be an immediate impact player. We are rebuilding.

[Indomitable]

bad...

This feels almost like when they had Aldridge lined up and when potential with Tyrus. Had an easy win, even if it might cause issues with Coby. Instead, go for the no -shooting, excellent but not elite athlete and decent but not Matas level handle…. sigh.

Who is laMarcus in this situation?

[Chi town]

I expect Noa to be very similar to Buz.

He will get the rookie treatment with spot mins and earning his burn.

His D and motor will play day one. I expect him to play over Philipps right away and over PW after 50 games.

3-4 years in he will fill out and be a cheat code at small ball 5.

I really want to see Buz and him out there together with Giddey. This will FORCE Billy to play bigger. Not two guards with Giddey everytime.

Buz had sound fundamentals. Noa is the Saluan of this draft and he was so raw he did nothing.

Saluan was the first name that popped in my head.

Salaun is stiff and upright.

Noa is like Gumby. Moves like a guard. Coordinated and great body control.

[GoBlue72391]

Drafting a major project to one of the worst player development franchises in the league is little more than a hope and a prayer.

[NecessaryEvil]

Read on Twitter

Man this guy could be anything

[MGB8]

Read on Twitter

The potential

But exhibition has to temper when watching.

[WindyCityBorn]

Maluach and Essengue were my two most likely to become bust picks in the lottery.

Essengue just doesn’t seem to have much skill or explosiveness. I saw one highlight where he tried to dunk uncontested and came up short, getting blocked by the front of the rim.

I guess the upside is he’s only 18 and could grow even taller, naturally fill out his frame etc but I don’t see him being a regular contributor for another 2 seasons.

I personally feel like we should have traded down for more assets.

Who cares if he needs two seasons? We aren’t competing for anything soon.

[MGB8]

At least this should mean no Kuminga, though validates AKMEs interest in Kuminga.

[NecessaryEvil]

Essengue basically looked great because the German League is slow and he had 10 pts and 5 rebounds per game, that is nothing special. In the German playoff finals he can't get minutes because he is not good enough. That doesn't excite me at all. I guess at least it wasn't a reach like Terry, but he sounds eerily similar player type. I don't see Siakam at all.

He’s only 18

Now he has to train against Matas, Collins, Jalen Smith etc regularly

Give him 3 yrs

[RSP83]

Seems like the board is split on Noa's take. We'll see. But at the same time it's the 12th pick, it's the right place to draft high ceiling guys.

If there's anything I learn about the Patrick Williams pick is stay away from players that lacks motor. With Pat the low motor has always been obvious, but his other attributes scream so loud that everybody ignores it. With Noa, despite his length, he's one level below Pat in terms of physical and raw talent but the IQ and motor is better than Pat was. I feel Noa at worst will be able to play a role in a system, this is something Pat is still struggling with even to this day.

[GoBlue72391]

Buz had sound fundamentals. Noa is the Saluan of this draft and he was so raw he did nothing.

Saluan was the first name that popped in my head.

Salaun is stiff and upright.

Noa is like Gumby. Moves like a guard. Coordinated and great body control.

I meant in terms of bust potential. This is the definition of a boom or bust pick.

[boozapalooza]

6’10” barefoot, 7’1” wingspan, 9’2” standing reach

Thing is, he just turned 18. 2nd youngest guy in the draft. What if he keeps growing?? Entirely possible. Freak-ish, Giannis type stuff.

[2weekswithpay]

At least this should mean no Kuminga, though validates AKMEs interest in Kuminga.

Why would drafting Essengue stop them from going after Kuminga?

[Bulliever2020]

I'm extremely glad we went with seemingly the big swing here.
KJ is going to be a solid player but we need guys with the potential to be stars.
Props to AK for not going the safe route.
And I just love watching these types of young players develop.
I don't trust the Bulls development staff at all to do so but I'm all in on this guy.
Welcome to Chicago, Noa!

[wolffy]

Drafting a major project to one of the worst player development franchises in the league is little more than a hope and a prayer.

They were drafting 12th. You dont get high ceiling, low floor players at that point in the draft.

You either draft a guy you're hoping can be a rotational player or you take a swing at development.

But you absolutely dont go into the draft thinking we can't draft a guy that needs to develop be cause we can't do that.

[MGB8]

Drafting a major project to one of the worst player development franchises in the league is little more than a hope and a prayer.

They might hit. Looks like they hit with Buz. So much is on the player themselves. But he is not a Risacher level prospect,and the risk is huge, with multiple red flags. Still, I can’t say it was some huge reach or that there isn’t talent or achievable upside - just huge variance that I would have rather avoided.

[Chi town]

Saluan was the first name that popped in my head.

Salaun is stiff and upright.

Noa is like Gumby. Moves like a guard. Coordinated and great body control.

I meant in terms of bust potential. This is the definition of a boom or bust pick.

Totally disagree.

Noa has a strong floor due to his D, motor, IQ for steals and blocks and IQ on cuts for dunks and lobs. He has a sky high FT rate that helps him a ton.

[GoBlue72391]

6’10” barefoot, 7’1” wingspan, 9’2” standing reach

Thing is, he just turned 18. 2nd youngest guy in the draft. What if he keeps growing?? Entirely possible. Freak-ish, Giannis type stuff.

But what if he doesn't?

[MGB8]

At least this should mean no Kuminga, though validates AKMEs interest in Kuminga.

Why would drafting Essengue stop them from going after Kuminga?

Where would Kuminga have minutes if Matas and Essengue (and Giddey at the 3) are getting minutes?