LAS VEGAS – Billy Donovan III described it as a “welcome to the NBA moment.”
The Bulls’ Summer League coach was being kind.
Friday’s debut for rookie Noa Essengue wasn’t just humbling, it was a disaster. The 18-year-old looked like a freshman playing with the varsity. He was pushed around like a baby giraffe, turned over like a French pastry – seven giveaways to be exact – and became a passive bystander by the second half.
Just under 25 minutes of action for Essengue, five points and a minus-32 in plus-minus. Even more alarming was afterward when he admitted he was “surprised” by the physicality. He very well could have been, but future advice for the kid? Lie.
“I need to improve everything, my dribble, my shooting skills, my go to the basket,” Essengue said. “I missed a lot of shots, I (had) a lot of turnovers. I just need to get better (in) everything. I just need to be more physical, more ready.”
Donovan was also blunt.
“This league has humbled all of us at some point,” Donovan said. “I’m really interested to see how he’s going to respond.”
Response made.
It’s not like Essengue overshadowed the buzz of Cooper Flagg’s 31-point clinic from earlier in the afternoon in Saturday’s Summer League play, but he showed something.
With Matas Buzelis sitting the game out for a recovery day, the baby Bulls leaned on Essengue, especially on the glass. He grabbed nine of his 10 rebounds in the first half, also scoring 10 points. He continued to play the tip of the spear in the Bulls zone, patrolling above the key, and maybe most importantly, he just looked more engaged rather than overwhelmed.
There was a sense of belonging in just 24 hours, at least until he exited the game with right quad contusion midway through the third quarter.
“Definitely better,” Donovan III said. “He definitely wasn’t thinking as much, kept the dribbles down and I thought he was decisive. I think he’ll get better and better. They’re calling it a knee contusion right now, so he’ll get treatment on Sunday and see how he responds to it.”
Yet another response needed from the rook.
“We’re going to see how it feels the next few days,” Essengue said of the injury.
His mind wasn’t on the injury as much as the slight bounce back he displayed.
“I think that was really important to just bounce back,” Essengue said. “(Friday) was the first game of my life in Summer League, so I had to see what was going on.”
There’s also, however, still a sense that the 18-year-old will need a lot of work, patience and development in his rookie campaign. He’s 1-of-7 from three in the two games combined and has had more airballs than makes from that distance, and the lack of physicality isn’t going to change anytime soon.
What he has on his side is a veteran frontcourt that allows him time to change his body and his game.
If the season were to start today, Essengue with be an afterthought in the rotation, especially if head coach Billy Donovan wants to lean into a three-guard lineup to start games. That would leave Nikola Vucevic in the middle and Buzelis the lone true forward, backed up by newly-acquired Isaac Okoro and Patrick Williams
The Bulls also still have Jalen Smith and Zach Collins that can play center or forward if need be, so the idea that there’s an urgency surrounding the 12th overall pick from the June draft to impact the roster just isn’t realistic.
That doesn’t mean he won’t be prepared like he will have a chance to make an impact once fall camp tips off. Essengue got a little taste of that leading up to Saturday’s game, undergoing three separate film sessions – admittedly the most film he’s ever watched leading into a game – and then just getting an up-close look at a back-to-back.
Coming from the German League there are no back-to-backs.
“As with all these rookies competing in Summer League, it’s going to get better,” Donovan III said. “We’ve just got to keep repping it out and when they screw up you’ve also got to be able to tell them why there’s failure. But there’s going to be failure, but I also think you’ve got to do a good job of celebrating success, and I think we did a little bit of that (Saturday).”