BROOKLYN, NY (WGN) — The newest member of the Chicago Bulls is an international player hailing from France.
With the No. 12 pick in the 2025 NBA draft, the Bulls selected 6-foot-9-inch forward Noa Essengue.
Shortly after being drafted, Essengue sent out a celebratory tweet, saying, “Chi-town what’s up!!!”
According to CBS Sports, Essengue is one of the youngest players in the draft and is loaded with long-term upside. He’s extremely mobile and athletic for his size, and while his game doesn’t yet have a translatable niche, he’s been plenty productive this season with Ratiopharm Ulm in Germany’s Basketball Bundesliga.
Essengue’s strengths include mobility and athleticism, especially when getting out in the open floor in transition, and attacking the rim with physicality, despite having a slimmer frame that needs a few extra pounds added on to compete in the beefier NBA.
While Essengue is athletic and physical, he doesn’t have plus-length and as aforementioned, will need to add muscle to compete in the NBA. He is also unrefined from a shooting perspective. He has improved his shot and has demonstrated an ability to handle to basketball, but his face-up ability isn’t on par with the modern NBA power forward.
What does this mean for the Bulls going forward?
After Game 7 of the NBA Finals and the offseason fallout that followed, it’s clear the Eastern Conference will be wide open next season.
The Milwaukee Bucks, Boston Celtics and Indiana Pacers will be without Damian Lillard, Jayson Tatum and Tyrese Haliburton due to torn achilles tendons. The Celtics punted on Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis in offseason trades to avoid $180 million in tax penalties. The New York Knicks reminded the basketball world they’re clueless bozos by firing Tom Thibodeau after he guided the franchise to their first conference finals appearance since 2000.
Throw in Kevin Durant choosing the Houston Rockets instead of the Miami Heat, and there seems to be only four teams in the East who are bound to be truly competitive—the Knicks (if they ever find a head coach), Orlando Magic, Detroit Pistons and Cleveland Cavaliers.
Without trading a major piece, the Bulls have basically moved up in the standings by standing pat.
What the Essengue pick does mean though, is that Patrick Williams or Nikola Vucevic could be on the move with another front court player now in the fold.
Chicago has run the gambit on trying to help Williams ascend, but his development has never been more than stagnant at best, and the five-year, $90 million extension he signed last summer makes him that much harder to trade.
But maybe there’s momentum toward making something happen on that front for general manager Arturas Karnisovas.
Moving Vucevic is easier and makes much more sense. He will make $21.48 million in 2025-26 before becoming an unrestricted free agent next offseason and if the Bulls want to extract value from him before he walks, now could be the best time to strike a deal and get something in return for his services.