From a halfhearted rebuild to recycling a slew of veterans, the Chicago Bulls have avoided a full-fledged rebuild at all costs. Despite three consecutive 20-win seasons from 2017 to 2020, Chicago sought to speed up the eventual rebuild by acquiring then-30-year-old Nikola Vučević and dumping several young players and ever-important draft capital.
Ditching Wendell Carter Jr., Daniel Gafford, Lauri Markkanen, and Bobby Portis over a three-year stretch didn’t pan out well as the front office had hoped. Although the core made up of Lonzo Ball, DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine, and Vučević led to a decent finish in 2021-22, it was quickly realized this defense-deficient trio, excluding Ball, was not built to contend.
Chicago has been stuck in a rut for quite some time
Nonetheless, the Bulls seemingly ignored this obvious truth, sticking with the DeRozan-LaVine-Vučević threesome for three seasons and compiling a 125-121 record from 2021 to 2024. While continuity is important in a radically evolving landscape, there’s a time and place to buy into evolution.
A year ago, the Bulls finally began a transformation, parting with DeRozan via sign-and-trade and swapping then-30-year-old Alex Caruso for then-21-year-old Josh Giddey. Two steps in the right direction, yet LaVine and Vučević remained. Months later, Chicago jettisoned LaVine in exchange for a so-so return. Even though a trio of role players and a first-round draft pick (previously their own) wasn’t the best return for a borderline All-Star talent, trading LaVine solidified the Bulls’ long-term view.
Not long after LaVine’s departure, Billy Donovan infused the starting lineup with more youth, moving 11th overall pick Matas Buzelis into the opening group. Chicago simultaneously leaned into its young backcourt duo of Josh Giddey and Coby White, which, in turn, led to a 17-10 post-All-Star break record.
Still, despite the impressive stretch, the Bulls fell short in the Play-In Tournament and continue to roster one player from years past—Vučević. While the second-half resurgence was promising, there remain moves to be made.
Drafting Noa Essengue signals a long overdue rebuild
The first major move following the regular season was one with future intentions in mind. The Bulls selected 18-year-old Noa Essengue with the 12th overall pick to pair with last year’s lottery selection, Buzelis, on the wing.
Of course, the Bulls could have just as easily selected Vučević’s predecessor at center, considering Derik Queen, Thomas Sorber, Joan Beringer, Asa Newell, and Danny Wolf were still on the board, or nabbed a win-now talent following Chicago’s post-All-Star break resurgence, such as Carter Bryant, Nique Clifford, or Walter Calyton Jr.
Nonetheless, the Bulls tabbed the second-youngest player in the draft as their player of choice. Essengue isn’t the rawest of raw when it comes to prospects; he averaged 10.7 points per game for Ratopharm Ulm across 60 appearances between the Basketball Bundesliga regular season and the Eurocup. However, he’s still more of an idea at this point in his maturation.
Although drafting a player banking on their development can cause a fanbase to have concerns, in this instance, it points to Chicago finally setting aside its hesitancy to rebuild and accepting the inevitable. The Bulls are nowhere near contention status. Thus, developing players is key. Drafting Essengue is a perfect example of this forthcoming mindset, one Bulls fans will surely appreciate.
