The Bulls are making a clear point with Noa Essengue: they’re not waiting for him to look ready before they give him real minutes.
That’s been the quiet development in Chicago’s early-season rotation. While the bigger long-term focus still sits on Matas Buzelis and Caleb Wilson, first-year coach Tiago Splitter is also using this stretch to sort through the rest of the roster and figure out who fits the organization’s future under Bryson Graham.
Essengue has become one of the more interesting tests in that process. He missed almost all of last season with a shoulder injury, didn’t show much offensive upside in the preseason, and still looks raw with the ball in his hands. Even so, he has now been the first man off the bench in back-to-back games for Chicago, a small but meaningful sign that the Bulls are willing to live with the growing pains.
The numbers so far are rough. In 53 minutes with the Bulls this season, Essengue has eight points, eight rebounds and two assists against four turnovers.
He’s shooting 30% from the field, and Chicago is minus-33 during his minutes. He also still has obvious issues handling bigger bodies inside and quicker guards on the perimeter.
Against the Boston Celtics yesterday, Payton Pritchard drove him back into the paint before finishing with a floater over him for an easy basket.
Still, this is exactly the kind of player who needs the runway.
Splitter made that much clear in the preseason, when he said Essengue was fighting for possessions every day in camp and would have a chance to win a real role this season. So far, that opportunity has shown up in the rotation decisions.
On Wednesday against the New York Knicks, Essengue was one of the first two subs in, replacing Buzelis while Leonard Miller came on for Jalen Smith. On Friday against the Celtics, he was the only early substitution, again checking in for Buzelis while Boston still had all of its starters on the floor except Mitchell Robinson.
That’s not just a routine bench move. It’s a deliberate challenge.
Splitter is putting Essengue in spots where the speed and physicality are going to expose him, and where the matchups are going to be uncomfortable. In that Celtics game, those minutes meant dealing with Jayson Tatum, Paul George, Josh Hart and OG Anunoby. Those are the kinds of reps that can look messy now and still matter later.
Essengue still has a long way to go before he looks settled. But the Bulls clearly see the appeal: a skinny forward with the frame and upside to become a connective wing piece if the development comes. For now, Chicago seems content to keep feeding him those reps and let the evaluation continue.
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