Chicago Bulls select Noa Essengue - #12 overall

[CobysHairpick]

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also good

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I imagine Essengue buckets to start his career will look much like Risacher here.

[Red Larrivee]

Went looking for YouTube’s. This is first I saw. Wish it made me more confident, but I just see a raw athlete. If raw athlete was the goal, I liked Beringer better. (Not uber-elite athlete, either, and very skinny - but more worryingly no notable in-game skills shown besides some good cuts; a block here or steal there, etc., isn’t necessarily notable).

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I think the difference is that while Essengue isn't refined, he's shown more possibilities on the floor with skills and his role. His outcomes are all over the map because of it. Beringer is much more in line with a traditional rim running, lob threat, shot blocking big. Nothing wrong with that, but you can find those in any draft. Essengue is much more unique.

[MrSparkle]

100%. Would have been amazing have New Orleans 1st rounder unprotected, and grabbing one of the many solid players that were available at 23 or later. Hopefully this very raw and young player they drafted works out

That was a crazy decision by NOP, but they do have a playoff team if Zion plays 50+ games.

I don’t see anyone drafted at 23 or later remotely close to Noa’s talent. Major longshots (Wolf, Saraf, Jase, etc.).

Atlanta gets a A from me for this draft.

You think a team of Fears, Queen, Missi, Poole, Trey Murphy, Herb Jones and Zion win 50+ games?

That's relying on two rookies and Zions health.

Plus, it's the better pick between Milwaukee and New Orleans. What if something happens to Milwaukee and they end up worse than expected? Or one of those two teams get lottery luck?

I agree with you that I prefer Noa's potential, but not enough for someone like Newell and the 2026 pick.

I wonder if this trade was on Bulls’ radar before the draft, but Noa was 1 of 2-3 guys they really wanted (let’s hypothetically say Egor and CMB were the other two). Pelicans were clearly very interested in Queen, and Bulls ended up passing on some linked names (Bryant, Kasparas, etc.)… seems like Bulls never seriously considered DQ.

Anyway, I agree the Pelicans trade is risky as hell, especially since the West is a 14-team play-in (Utah’s the only definitive loser). Dumars/Weaver are crazy. But I see a half-chance it works out. Motivated healthy Zion is top-5 imo; big fan of the guy’s game, pretty bummed he’s been unable to stay in shape and healthy.

Fears and Queen are 2 high-risk/high-reward picks… definitively gonna have issues with 3P & defense… big deal, right? … but they also have superstar skills/hands. I think the big issue is redundancy. A miracle coach is needed to get these guys to play their way (loose, fun offense), but find a way to not get pounded and exploited defensively. Is Don Nelson willing to become the oldest NBA coach ever? Either way, I’m getting the popcorn out for the Pelicans.

To not get atleast top-1 protection was coocoo.

[Chi town]

I’m certainly happy with this pick.

I’m curious to see what a 4/5 Buzelis/Noa pairing looks like in a couple of years when they both hit their maturity weight. Clearly they would have trouble with large C’s but the benefits overall of having two athletic switchable bigs might cause some serious headaches.

They will run large bigs off the floor and their ability to front and switch on D will count act the size

I think the modern 4/5 are interchangeable.

Who is the PF in the Boston starting lineup. It doesn't matter. That could be Brown or Tatum. Its seemless.

Paulo and Franz same.

I think Noa and Matas has the potential to be the same.

Fully agree. In the playoffs we didn’t see giant bigs on the floor in crunch time. No traditional 5s.

Even the Pacers moved their 5 in and out of the lineup.

[MGB8]

Went looking for YouTube’s. This is first I saw. Wish it made me more confident, but I just see a raw athlete. If raw athlete was the goal, I liked Beringer better. (Not uber-elite athlete, either, and very skinny - but more worryingly no notable in-game skills shown besides some good cuts; a block here or steal there, etc., isn’t necessarily notable).

Watch on YouTube

I think the difference is that while Essengue isn't refined, he's shown more possibilities on the floor with skills and his role. His outcomes are all over the map because of it. Beringer is much more in line with a traditional rim running, lob threat, shot blocking big. Nothing wrong with that, but you can find those in any draft. Essengue is much more unique.

Yeah, the 2nd video I found (posted above) made me feel a lot better. I have to take issue with what the first video’s creator thinks are “best plays.”

Re Beringer, I feel like the Bulls need a future defensive 5 and Beringer at least seems more effective vertically, along with high levels of short term switch ability and recovery skills.

Essengue isn’t a 5 candidate, at least not for many years. He is a “classic 4” that is closer to a 3/4 at this point than to a 4/5. He has flashed enough on both ends that I can def see why he was drafted. Still a big swing with a lot of risk, but can see the “Giannis-lite” potential, maybe not even that light.

[Chi town]

I'm good with the pick I think the athletic numbers look good he's doing better than guards with speed and agility at 6' 10" and then the way he moves he is well coordinated for his size. Definitely seems switchable and has great potential as a defender but it does seem like he has to develop a bit at understanding team defense but his athleticism and arms should help him a lot. His handle isn't great but it doesn't look hopeless and I'd say the same about his shooting he isn't a great shooter but I don't see anything mechanically wrong in his shot that would prevent him from becoming decent. Guy is incredibly young and only playing since 12 too so it's not surprising he hasn't put these skills together yet and there is good reason to think he can improve on this over time just because of learning trajectory as it sounds like he's only been playing ball for 6 years. It isn't like his development has stalled in these areas it's more like he hasn't had enough time to really put things together yet.

Seems to be able to attack well facing the basket, he isn't going to be creating a lot of shots for himself but we actually have good PG play on the team now so he should be a effective lob target. I'd also say the good PG play may be as important to develop him as he needs someone that knows how to feed him the ball and we have those guys now, coaching is important but I think having pretty crappy PG play for a lot of recent years plays into project guys not developing as well and I think that has changed. I like the gamble here.

I would not draft Noa without Giddey and Zo here. It’s essential to that he has a PG that knows how to use him. Giddey will be lob city with Buz and Noa applying constant rim pressure. Should unlock better spacing and more efficient offense more space on 3s etc.

[Chi town]

The development concerns from the franchise are legit. I’d say they are even more legitimate now that AKME decided to part ways with Peter Patton.

From a player development standpoint, we were decent at making everyone a better shooter. That was Patton’s work. He’s gone now. Noa could have really used him because his FT% is good which likely means his shot needs a very minor tweak and I would’ve trusted Patton to diagnose/fix that. It’s still baffling why AKME made the decision to part ways with him.

With all of that said, it’s another draft year of folks overly concerned about combine measurables. Reading way too many comments worried about the kids length and athleticism numbers. While those are fun quantitative numbers to debate, they don’t take into consideration a players heart or passion.

Most reports talk about Noa as a high energy player with a ton of desire. Those characteristics are what will define him as a player more than his standing reach, height with shoes, etc. The mindset he has is what will decide if he develops to his ceiling or his floor. By all reports, he has this in spades. That’s incredibly important and what gives me a lot of hope that he reaches his potential.

Like TJ McConnell said in the finals, “effort is a skill” and Noa seems to have that same fire at the age of 18. That’s a really good thing.

Great post. Buz has it and it seems Noa does too from interviews I’ve seen. He lived in Germany by himself at 17 because he wanted to play in the NBA and knew what it would take.

[Indomitable]

Really impressive speed & agility for a guy who'll be listed at 6' 11"+. People throw out "multi positional defender" way too often, Noa looks like he'll actually be able to do it.

Sprint time:
Fears: 3.05
Bryant: 3.07
Noa: 3.10
Bailey: 3.12
VJ Edgecombe: 3.20
KJ: 3.22
Newell: 3.26
Flagg: 3.30
Maluach: 3.50

Agility Test:
Flagg: 10.64
Noa: 10.70
Fears: 10.95
Newell: 10.95
Bailey: 10.97
KJ: 10.99
CMB: 11.21
Bryant: 11.25
VJ: 11.27
Maluach: 12.05
Queen: 12.45

People are calling him a stiff, average athlete or uncoordinated. Facts don’t matter I guess.

Haven't heard anyone call him stiff or uncoordinated. If I missed it, please correct me.

Worst I've heard is his wingspan is average-ish and his vert is good but not great. And I was the one who said those things. And they're true.

His vertical for a legit 6'11 is excellent. The other things are True though.

[NecessaryEvil]

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[_txchilibowl_]

Love it. Love the fit, love the upside, love the philosophical approach that led to the pick.

Props to AKME.

[Chi town]

1. Giddey will be feeding Noa until he learns how to feed himself on ball

2. Billy will certainly play him at the 5 and playing him at the 4 will for e Billy to play big and put Buz at the 3.

3. Pat has until the trade deadline to bump his value and get traded or he will be getting 10min.

4. I think Noa is further ahead of Buz on D coming in and can play the spacer cutter role that Pat does nothing with. Could honestly see him getting more mins early than Buz did because of how good he is in defense.

[BeatDaCavs420]

Jesus reading this thread I am literally confused about this pick, because some people are saying this guy is going to be great and then others are saying this was a awful pick...No in-between anywhere in this thread lmao

[keobulls]

Found a much better video - more skills flashed on offense, on the defense portion can see mobility in space and better shot blocking instincts than on first video:

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Ooh, and at the 5:15 mark you can see him ripping it away from former Bull Marko Simonovic! Poor Marko.

[HomoSapien]

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[waffle]

Jesus reading this thread I am literally confused about this pick, because some people are saying this guy is going to be great and then others are saying this was a awful pick...No in-between anywhere in this thread lmao

um....that's pretty much SOP around here

[Red8911]

One thing I like is the Bulls are finally adding some much needed size. Noa is 6’10 or 6’11, Matas 6’10 and Giddey 6’8.

Idk which position Noa will play, he’s projected to be more of a Wing SF. So if you have both Matas and Noa at the forward positions along with the center, then add Giddey too that’s a big lineup.

[keobulls]

Also can see in that longer video that on defense he is processing and anticipating, not just reacting (same on offensive highlights).

[MrSparkle]

Jesus reading this thread I am literally confused about this pick, because some people are saying this guy is going to be great and then others are saying this was a awful pick...No in-between anywhere in this thread lmao

I don’t know what the haters are on. Every draft pick, especially at 12, is gonna have a bust angle.

I get the knocks on his shooting (even though his form looks OK). People ripping into his athleticism or length are talking out their ass. He moves very well for his size.

If this guy busts, it’ll be cause of bad shooting and poor motor (which I didn’t notice evidence of… not a Javonte, but not Patrick/asleep at the wheel either). In general, he seems to have much better 5-on-5 awareness than Patrick (whose best highlights were iso 1-on-1 buckets in the gym). Patrick seems to do the right things on team defense, but ultimately always seemed more serviceable than disruptive.

One thing about Patrick, is I remember being a little surprised when I noticed how small he looked next to Giannis in that 1st Rd series (he got obliterated, btw). I wonder if his standing reach combined with his slower foot work is what’s put Pat in the awkward tweener category. Hard to tell until he hits an NBA court, but Noa just seems like he’s much longer (and thus capable of doing the 3-5 hybrid thing, maybe capable of not letting Giannis average 30/15 effortlessly).

Pretty nuanced, but I’m starting to think there are diminishing returns on 7+ wingspan if your lateral movement and quickness are below average… whereas a few extra inches of standing reach may benefit more, as you can hold those hands straight up in the paint in stationary position, and challenge easy buckets without having to jump too much. His 9’2 standing reach could be the secret sauce.

[HomoSapien]

One thing I like is the Bulls are finally adding some much needed size. Noa is 6’10 or 6’11, Matas 6’10 and Giddey 6’8.

Idk which position Noa will play, he’s projected to be more of a Wing SF. So if you have both Matas and Noa at the forward positions along with the center, then add Giddey too that’s a big lineup.

Yep, no more JaVonte's and Terry Taylors playing the 4.

[MrSparkle]

One thing I like is the Bulls are finally adding some much needed size. Noa is 6’10 or 6’11, Matas 6’10 and Giddey 6’8.

Idk which position Noa will play, he’s projected to be more of a Wing SF. So if you have both Matas and Noa at the forward positions along with the center, then add Giddey too that’s a big lineup.

The 2021-24 team was destined for failure with Zach/Demar/Vuc all having sub-optimal size/defensive-reach at their positions. Lonzo helped a lot; the Caruso/Green hustle was special. But they were never going to overcome those 3.

I agree tho; starting from scratch with a lanky farm is a much better place to be. Smallest positional guys in the rotation will be Coby and Huerter, who atleast are elite 3P threats (if you have no D, atleast have a 3), both lower-minute/lower-usage guys.