His English is good. It will get much better.
Noa Essengue’s game?
That’s really where all eyes will be, starting Tuesday night in Cleveland when the Bulls tip off the five-game preseason schedule.
Can the 18-year-old handle the physicality with such a slim frame, is the game too fast for him, can he guard, will he get overwhelmed?
All fair questions to ask of a player who does have professional experience in the German League but is also deemed a project ever since the Bulls selected him No. 12 overall in the June NBA Draft.
The easiest way to evaluate Essengue now and into the immediate future, however? Don’t. His development will be a slow burn. One that may take a full season or heck, even two. If it comes quicker than that go ahead and pencil it in as an unanticipated bonus.
Through the first week of training camp, that’s almost how the Bulls themselves are approaching it.
“There’s processes these guys go through that you have to help them with other than ball-handling, passing, shooting,” coach Billy Donovan said, when discussing NBA rookies and how he handles them. “Just how to be a pro, how to get yourself prepared to play, how do you impact the game, how do you pay attention to scouting reports, how do you watch film, do you go home and actually work and do some things? Those are the things you try and help players with, and hopefully those things transfer onto the court.”
They will for Essengue, just likely not an NBA court when the regular season begins.
Because of the Bulls depth and where Essengue sits in the process, if one wants to find the Frenchman playing in a professional basketball game this winter enjoy the scenic drive to Hoffman Estates where the G League Windy City Bulls reside.
Along with fan favorite/cult hero Yuki Kawamura – all 5-8 of the Japanese point guard – Essengue could be getting plenty of run out there.
“We’re not going to put high expectations on what’s going to happen,” executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas said of his rookie and spending time in the G League. “We’re just going to see how he does in the rest of training camp and how he does in the preseason. We’ll make those decisions then.”
But there is a recent precedent that should be noted.
Fellow forward Matas Buzelis was more talented than Essengue as a rookie in camp last year, and he fought for minutes the entire first half of the season before things really clicked for him.
“I understand when you have a young player people want to see the young player play just to see what the guy can do,” Donovan said. “I think the perfect example of that is Matas last year. There were just things that quite honestly that he just wasn’t doing where I didn’t feel he earned the opportunity to get extended minutes. Every player is a little different and their path to growth is a little different, right? Matas is the type of guy – I don’t want to say he likes to make mistakes, but he embraces mistakes as an opportunity to learn. The one thing you saw from him is as the season unfolded, everything he got he really earned, and he did a really good job.”
According to Donovan, what Essengue has on his side is a “feel for the game.” An attribute that can’t always be taught or coached. That’s an important building block on a very unfinished structure.
That’s why expectations should remain tempered.
“He’s going to have to get better with his strength, he’s going to have to get better guarding the ball one-on-one,” Donovan said of Essengue. “I think as young as he is this is going to be a process for him.”
One that will likely see a lot of time developing 28 miles west on the Kennedy Expressway.
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