The Bulls used the No. 12 pick of the NBA draft to take a versatile athlete from France, with uncertain potential.
Forward Noa Essengue, 18, was the second-youngest player on the draft board, three days older than No. 1 overall pick Cooper Flagg. Essengue played professionally for Ratiopharm Ulm in Germany the past two years.
He didn't attend the NBA draft combine in Chicago but is listed at 6-foot-10 without shoes, with a 7-1 wingspan. He should run the floor extremely well, if the nba.com-listed three-quarter court sprint speed of 3.10 seconds is correct. Former Bulls guard Kirk Hinrich ran the same when he came out in 2003.
Essengue averaged 9.7 points for Ulm in the regular season last winter and scored 20 points in an exhibition game against the Portland Trail Blazers.
Maryland center Derik Queen, Illinois forward Kasparas Jakucionis and Georgetown center Thomas Sorber were some others still on the board.
Heading into draft day, there was some buzz about the Bulls taking South Carolina forward Collin Murray-Boyles, and he was the betting favorite at No. 12. But he went ninth to Toronto, followed by Duke center Khaman Maluach at 10 to Phoenix and Washington State's Cedric Coward to Memphis at No. 11.
The first four picks went generally as expected. Flagg went first to Dallas, of course; followed by Rutgers guard Dylan Harper to San Antonio, Baylor guard V.J. Edgecombe to Philadelphia and Duke's Kon Knueppel to Charlotte.
The first surprise was Utah taking Rutgers forward Ace Bailey with the No. 5 pick. Bailey refused individual workouts with teams and may have been trying to control his destination, but most thought that would be Washington at No. 6. Texas guard Tre Johnson landed with the Wizards, and time will tell if the Jazz tries to add assets by trading Bailey.
Joliet native Jeremiah Fears went No. 7 to New Orleans.
Ratiopharm Ulm forward Noa Essengue, left, passes over Portland Trail Blazers forward Deni Avdija, center, and center Deandre Ayton during the first half of a preseason NBA basketball game in Portland, Ore., Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Craig Mitchelldyer) AP