Chicago Bulls select Noa Essengue - #12 overall

[Guru]

Not undeniable at all. I deny it. See how easy that was? It’s actually even easier than that. Check this out: Good for him. It’s awesome that he did it. I respect that he put himself first so that he could enjoy the once in a lifetime experience he worked so hard to achieve.

He seems like a good kid. Anyone still talking about "leaving his team during the finals" is just trying really hard to find something to complain about.

Fun watch:

Watch on YouTube

Nobody is saying he isn't a good kid. I am saying from a basketball character perspective it is not encouraging. Would Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, or any other true competitor leave his team in the finals - irrespective of situation? I'd say no. It seems more Patrick Williams vibey.

There is a story where he celebrates with his team in the playoffs of his league and the people who he battled with for the season cheer him on. Thats the scenario that plays out in a perfect basketball character perspective. I don't think him not doing that means he can't grow up a little.

[ThisGuyFawkes]

He seems like a good kid. Anyone still talking about "leaving his team during the finals" is just trying really hard to find something to complain about.

Fun watch:

Watch on YouTube

Nobody is saying he isn't a good kid. I am saying from a basketball character perspective it is not encouraging. Would Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, or any other true competitor leave his team in the finals - irrespective of situation? I'd say no. It seems more Patrick Williams vibey.

There is a story where he celebrates with his team in the playoffs of his league and the people who he battled with for the season cheer him on. Thats the scenario that plays out in a perfect basketball character perspective. I don't think him not doing that means he can't grow up a little.

What are you even talking about? He spoke with the team and they blessed his decision to attend a once-in-a-lifetime dream opportunity. He didn't just leave and give them the middle finger. Grow up a little? It seems like he took the proper protocols, had a good dialogue with his team, and they were genuinely happy for the kid to realize his dream. Context matters.

[GoBlue72391]

Matas was a project coming in, but you could tell from day 1 of his first SL that he has "it."

I didn't see that "it" from Noa from day 1. What I did see was a lot of Pat: poor hustle/motor/energy, low skill, little in-game impact, and athleticism that doesn't match his reputation.

He looked lost and out of his element. That's about as poor of a first impression one could make. Ditto Olbrich.

Now before you jump down my throat, I know it's only 1 SL game and is meaningless in the long run. We're going to have to be very patient with him, as we're going to have to basically use the entirety of his rookie contract to try and teach him how to play basketball. His rookie year might essentially end up as a redshirt year, playing primarily in the G League.

I'm not overreacting, everything I'm saying is consistent with what I said on draft night. Just observations from 1 game.

[MGB8]

Matas was a project coming in, but you could tell from day 1 of his first SL that he has "it."

I didn't see that "it" from Noa from day 1. What I did see was a lot of Pat: poor hustle/motor/energy, low skill, little in-game impact, and athleticism that doesn't match his reputation.

He looked lost and out of his element. That's about as poor of a first impression one could make. Ditto Olbrich.

Now before you jump down my throat, I know it's only 1 SL game and is meaningless in the long run. We're going to have to be very patient with him, as we're going to have to basically use the entirety of his rookie contract to try and teach him how to play basketball. His rookie year might essentially end up as a redshirt year, playing primarily in the G League.

I'm not overreacting, everything I'm saying is consistent with what I said on draft night. Just observations from 1 game.

Meanwhile, Beringer looked phenomenal, Jace Richardson looks like he will be another case of showing why measurables aren’t the end all, be all, and Kalkbrenner was more or less as advertised.

At the same time, KJ looked off his first 4 or so games in SL, but tonight looked much, much better- like the player I thought he would look like. And Noa was the projectiest of projects. Any time you swing for a home run… more likely to strike out than not.

That is why I wanted a safer choice (and also wanted a 2nd, later first)…. But Noa is an admitted project, can’t take too much away from first game.

[GoBlue72391]

Matas was a project coming in, but you could tell from day 1 of his first SL that he has "it."

I didn't see that "it" from Noa from day 1. What I did see was a lot of Pat: poor hustle/motor/energy, low skill, little in-game impact, and athleticism that doesn't match his reputation.

He looked lost and out of his element. That's about as poor of a first impression one could make. Ditto Olbrich.

Now before you jump down my throat, I know it's only 1 SL game and is meaningless in the long run. We're going to have to be very patient with him, as we're going to have to basically use the entirety of his rookie contract to try and teach him how to play basketball. His rookie year might essentially end up as a redshirt year, playing primarily in the G League.

I'm not overreacting, everything I'm saying is consistent with what I said on draft night. Just observations from 1 game.

Meanwhile, Beringer looked phenomenal, Jace Richardson looks like he will be another case of showing why measurables aren’t the end all, be all, and Kalkbrenner was more or less as advertised.

At the same time, KJ looked off his first 4 or so games in SL, but tonight looked much, much better- like the player I thought he would look like. And Noa was the projectiest of projects. Any time you swing for a home run… more likely to strike out than not.

That is why I wanted a safer choice (and also wanted a 2nd, later first)…. But Noa is an admitted project, can’t take too much away from first game.

I don't think the problem is with Noa. He's a reasonable choice for a 12th pick. The problem is our player development and the fans putting wildly unrealistic expectations on him and refusing to view him for what he is and instead choosing to see only what they want to see. The same thing happened with Pat.

I suspect this won't be a popular opinion, but that's how I see it.

[Muzbar]

Watch on YouTube

Highlights and lowlights.

[Dan Z]

Matas was a project coming in, but you could tell from day 1 of his first SL that he has "it."

I didn't see that "it" from Noa from day 1. What I did see was a lot of Pat: poor hustle/motor/energy, low skill, little in-game impact, and athleticism that doesn't match his reputation.

He looked lost and out of his element. That's about as poor of a first impression one could make. Ditto Olbrich.

Now before you jump down my throat, I know it's only 1 SL game and is meaningless in the long run. We're going to have to be very patient with him, as we're going to have to basically use the entirety of his rookie contract to try and teach him how to play basketball. His rookie year might essentially end up as a redshirt year, playing primarily in the G League.

I'm not overreacting, everything I'm saying is consistent with what I said on draft night. Just observations from 1 game.

Meanwhile, Beringer looked phenomenal, Jace Richardson looks like he will be another case of showing why measurables aren’t the end all, be all, and Kalkbrenner was more or less as advertised.

At the same time, KJ looked off his first 4 or so games in SL, but tonight looked much, much better- like the player I thought he would look like. And Noa was the projectiest of projects. Any time you swing for a home run… more likely to strike out than not.

That is why I wanted a safer choice (and also wanted a 2nd, later first)…. But Noa is an admitted project, can’t take too much away from first game.

I don't think the problem is with Noa. He's a reasonable choice for a 12th pick. The problem is our player development and the fans putting wildly unrealistic expectations on him and refusing to view him for what he is and instead choosing to see only what they want to see. The same thing happened with Pat.

I suspect this won't be a popular opinion, but that's how I see it.

I understand why they drafted Noa, but if it takes his entire rookie contract for him to learn basketball then that's not good.

That's 4 years waiting for him to be productive on some level. If he becomes a star then it might not matter, but if he's okay or a little above average then that's a lot of time/effort spent on a player that doesn't bring much back in return.

I know Giannis is a rarity and I'm not suggesting Noa will be as good as him, but in his third year Giannis averaged 16.9 points, 7.7 rebounds and 4.3 assists. Year four he was an all-star and most improved player.

The Bulls need more talent and someone with star potential to build around/with. Could Matas be that player? Maybe, but I doubt it. He seems like a good player, but not really your #1. Same with Giddey.

[CROBulls]

Noa is two years away from 4 years away. This is Bruno Caboclo territory guy maybe becoming role nba player half a decade from now.

[kulaz3000]

Let the overanalyses of summer league games begin. It’s just a losing endeavour that we resort to season after season. I’m going to take nothing away from these games as far as future projection of a player games, because the games are just so terribly disorganised.

I’m not going to get excited either even if he were to have had a great game either, production and game play just does not translate in any way. I actually think Summer League as a whole is absolutely pointless.

[DuckIII]

He looked crappy.

[fleet]

He had 7 TOs, his ball security looked pretty bad with the caveat who cares about SL. I think he has enough handle to drive it in, but at 6' 11" he shouldn't be trying to dribble through full court pressure against small guards like that.

It was odd. Like he didn’t know what his limits were, and was just finding it out, forcing at times. And it didn’t look like they had a plan/role for him on offense but there was also too much floating. Not that he necessarily should have a definitive role at this point. The defense should translate eventually. He had a lot more confidence. Albeit not quite consistent. There’s no way to tell what development capabilities he may have. It’s all on what his mentality is about it. Patrick Williams, or Jimmy Butler. Don’t attribute it to the Bulls for what that ends up being. He will have all the coaching he will need. He is in charge.

[LateNight]

This is sort of a make or break summer for AK fan-wise (if there are any remaining supporters) and so far it seems like they whiffed it.

One game doesn’t mean anything but not a good opener for them

[CROBulls]

He had 7 TOs, his ball security looked pretty bad with the caveat who cares about SL. I think he has enough handle to drive it in, but at 6' 11" he shouldn't be trying to dribble through full court pressure against small guards like that.

It was odd. Like he didn’t know what his limits were, and was just finding it out, forcing at times. And it didn’t look like they had a plan/role for him on offense but there was also too much floating. Not that he necessarily should have a definitive role at this point. The defense should translate eventually. He had a lot more confidence. Albeit not quite consistent. There’s no way to tell what development capabilities he may have. It’s all on what his mentality is about it. Patrick Williams, or Jimmy Butler. Don’t attribute it to the Bulls for what that ends up being. He will have all the coaching he will need. He is in charge.

What what what??? What I am reading here? This is pure clear Bulls fault if this dont go well. When you are a serious franchise (we are not but, lets theorize we are) Bulls are ones doing scouting, watching games, talking to coaches, friends, family, doing interviews to grasp this young man who he is. And can he raise to the task. Yes sometimes it's impossible to be 100% sure, but it's on you as GM to make that decision. That you feel comfortable putting your job on line eventually. That's what GM means. And that's minimum dilligance you need to do when picking players. You need to know who are you letting into your organization to develop and can you develop that person to become guy you want him to be. This guy is gonna spend next 4 years on roster working on his game.

[2weekswithpay]

Maybe the worst possible opponent for Noa's first game. The usual incompetent SL guards, combined with the Raptors playing some physical defense. Not surprised he struggled, although 7 TOs is certainly more than expected. Hopefully, things will be a bit easier for him against the Kings.

[GoBlue72391]

Meanwhile, Beringer looked phenomenal, Jace Richardson looks like he will be another case of showing why measurables aren’t the end all, be all, and Kalkbrenner was more or less as advertised.

At the same time, KJ looked off his first 4 or so games in SL, but tonight looked much, much better- like the player I thought he would look like. And Noa was the projectiest of projects. Any time you swing for a home run… more likely to strike out than not.

That is why I wanted a safer choice (and also wanted a 2nd, later first)…. But Noa is an admitted project, can’t take too much away from first game.

I don't think the problem is with Noa. He's a reasonable choice for a 12th pick. The problem is our player development and the fans putting wildly unrealistic expectations on him and refusing to view him for what he is and instead choosing to see only what they want to see. The same thing happened with Pat.

I suspect this won't be a popular opinion, but that's how I see it.

I understand why they drafted Noa, but if it takes his entire rookie contract for him to learn basketball then that's not good.

That's 4 years waiting for him to be productive on some level. If he becomes a star then it might not matter, but if he's okay or a little above average then that's a lot of time/effort spent on a player that doesn't bring much back in return.

I know Giannis is a rarity and I'm not suggesting Noa will be as good as him, but in his third year Giannis averaged 16.9 points, 7.7 rebounds and 4.3 assists. Year four he was an all-star and most improved player.

The Bulls need more talent and someone with star potential to build around/with. Could Matas be that player? Maybe, but I doubt it. He seems like a good player, but not really your #1. Same with Giddey.

I agree, but i just don't think there's star potential there unless a miracle happens. He can still be a really good player and that can be worth waiting for. We're not contending anytime soon anyway, so we can afford to be patient.

[WookieOnRitalin]

Not really worried about a 18.5 year old not looking like a killer in a summer league game.

The kids progress will be dictated by his personal desire to get better at things. What you want to see out of his play right now is a couple of things.

1: Borrowing from baseball, you want to see a player with a plus pitch or in Noa's case, a plus skill. With the things you can't teach (measurables) you want to see him do something that could make him a rotation player. Whether that's defense, rebounding, or a decent shot. Does he have any of these things right now? By November, I hope he has one thing.

2: See a weakness and see progress on it throughout the season. Ball handling and security could be something simple, progressive, and objective. With any athlete, you do not want to try to give too much as it is way too difficult to make significant progress in all areas at a rapid pace. You just want to isolate a particular aspect of the game and help the athlete get better looking at a 3-4 year trajectory when he's 21.5 to 22.5 years old.

What I saw was a young kid growing into his body who has advanced abilities for someone his age. Advanced past college? No. He looks like a freshman which...he is.

I think year one, we just want the kid to alter shots defensively, hit the three with some regularity, and not cough up the ball. With other guys on the roster (Coby, Giddey, Matas, Vuc even) it is not likely he needs to do a lot right now because those other guys will do more. It's likely that Noa is going to be a role player for the next two years. Look at Giannis' trajectory. He started out young, raw, rough, and then became a perennial MVP candidate over time.

For comparison, Giannis was mocked in the late lottery and was drafted at 15. Came in at the same height and same age. Their birthdays are two days apart.

The difference? Giannis came in at 200-205. Now he's 240-245.

If Noa can get halfway there that would probably go a long way to improving his long term outlook as an NBA player.

[waffle]

I mean it was his first game....no panic.

[Red Larrivee]

I understand why they drafted Noa, but if it takes his entire rookie contract for him to learn basketball then that's not good.

That's 4 years waiting for him to be productive on some level. If he becomes a star then it might not matter, but if he's okay or a little above average then that's a lot of time/effort spent on a player that doesn't bring much back in return.

I know Giannis is a rarity and I'm not suggesting Noa will be as good as him, but in his third year Giannis averaged 16.9 points, 7.7 rebounds and 4.3 assists. Year four he was an all-star and most improved player.

The Bulls need more talent and someone with star potential to build around/with. Could Matas be that player? Maybe, but I doubt it. He seems like a good player, but not really your #1. Same with Giddey.

But, that's what you sign up for with these types of players. There is absolutely a chance that Essengue is learning for most of or the entirety of his rookie contract. There's absolutely a chance that by the end of his rookie contract, he's not even close to the upside people were promoting. Maybe he's average at best by then?

And he'd still have immense potential too, because he'd only be 21 years old.

This is my issue with fan reaction to these types of players. People whine about "playing it too safe" and not "swinging for the fences", but they aren't patient enough to actually see player development all the way through. I still think all these direct and indirect Giannis comps aren't doing him any favors. I will not be shocked when people are flipping during his rookie season (Not saying that's you).

He's 18 and he wasn't exactly dominant in his league. He isn't really refined in any particular areas. He shows flashes of things that can make a great 5 minute highlight reel, but flashes aren't entire games. There are going to be a lot of struggles for a while. There's a good chance other players picked below him will look better in the short-term, because they know their games and are better at basketball today.

[Lexluthor]

This is sort of a make or break summer for AK fan-wise (if there are any remaining supporters) and so far it seems like they whiffed it.

One game doesn’t mean anything but not a good opener for them

It’s summer league . Cooper Flagg only scored 5 more points than him

[LateNight]

This is sort of a make or break summer for AK fan-wise (if there are any remaining supporters) and so far it seems like they whiffed it.

One game doesn’t mean anything but not a good opener for them

It’s summer league . Cooper Flagg only scored 5 more points than him

Yeah. Doesn’t mean much - hope he looks better next game.

But cooper Flagg looked wayyyyy better even with that output. He was more like watching matas

If we get into the season and essengue still can’t create shots, defend or dribble I’d say they’re in trouble.