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, he 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 the Bulls last October and played one game with their G League affiliate.