Bulls select Noa Essengue with No. 12 pick in 2025 NBA Draft

NBA Draft Lottery : Interview avec Noa Essengue, la pépite française qui ne  finit plus de grimper

What’s the French word for “meh”?

Looking to add another player for their up-tempo style, the Bulls took a big swing with the No. 12 pick in the NBA Draft, selecting athletic Frenchman Noa Essengue on Wednesday.

The good? At 6-9, he can guard one through four, has shown elite defensive skills for his team in Germany (Ratiopharm Ulm)and can attack the rim with the best of them in the draft class.

The bad? He’s raw and is the type of player that Bulls executive vice president Arturas Karnisovas seems to chase too often — one who needs to add size, physicality and an outside shot.

“We had some calls before the draft,” Essengue, 18, said. “We just talked to each other.”

The Bulls must have liked what they heard because Maryland big man Derik Queen as well as a bigger, stronger forward in Carter Bryant were still on the board.

But much like draft-lottery night, it was more about the misses than the one the Bulls made. Their draft board changed a bit when Collin Murray-Boyles went slightly higher than projected at No. 9. Duke center Khaman Maluach, whom they were high on, was sliding a bit, though. But hope quickly dissolved when Maluach was drafted 10th by the Rockets and traded to the Suns.

That left the Bulls with Essengue, whom they also had been linked to the last few weeks.

General manager Marc Eversley admitted that they were discussing moving up with “three or four teams,” but with the way the board was falling, they stayed put for Essengue.

“He’s the second-youngest player in the draft; he’s a skilled power forward who has the skills to score,” Eversley said. “He’s excellent in transition, and he can play above the rim. He’s got great hands and a great feel for the game.”

Essengue wasn’t about to dispute that.

“Defense, offense, I’m going to give it all I got,” Essengue said. “I think my biggest strength is finishing at the basket — dunks, layups, all that stuff. I think I need to work on my shooting skills.”

In other words, he’s a project.

On a roster that is basically completely filled and stuck in mediocrity, it’s not exactly a pick that moves the needle right away.

It’s a good thing that Karnisovas was given that contract extension a few months ago because he’s going to have to start earning it.

The Bulls have the 15th pick (45th overall) in the second round Thursday and could go with a draft-and-stash, picking a player who has another year overseas. Then the real roster cleanup begins.

The Sun-Times reported earlier this week that the Bulls were actively looking to package Patrick Williams in a deal this summer, and little on the roster was deemed untouchable.

Karnisovas undoubtedly will look to extend restricted free agent Josh Giddey at an expected $30 million per year, while Matas Buzelis would have to be pried from the organization for a deal they couldn’t refuse. That’s how highly the Bulls covet Buzelis.

Everyone else has been discussed, including active conversations for guards Coby White and Lonzo Ball.

White will not take any extension offer from the Bulls this offseason, opting to play out his contract and test the free-agent market next summer.

That leaves the Bulls with the decision to prepare to possibly make him a $40 million-a-year player or move off him before he can walk.

It’s a no-brainer for a team that is still trying to get out of the Eastern Conference Play-In Tournament year in and year out.

So why not draft a guard with that 12th pick?

The hope is Essengue can do what Williams hasn’t done enough over the years, and that’s play with urgency and energy. Essengue doesn’t have Williams’ physical build, but he does play a similar role. If the Bulls can develop his offense, especially from the outside, Essengue and Buzelis could be a nice young one-two punch.

That’s a big if. Nothing new for the Bulls on draft night.

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