Chicago Bulls rookie gets lukewarm grade after Summer League

The Chicago Bulls enjoyed Summer League this year. They saw some real growth out of their rookie, Noa Essengue. Matas Buzelis looked great before he was shut down, and Yuki Kawamura played his way into a two-way deal with the Bulls. It was, by and large, a fairly productive couple of weeks for Chicago.

Unfortunately, Essengue still left a lot to be desired, according to Bleacher Report’s Dan Favale. However, despite giving the rookie out of France a C grade, the insider had a lot of praise for the 12th overall pick in the draft.

“The 19-year-old out of France seems as advertised after his summer-league run. His physical tools point to someone who will get by beelining towards the rim and drawing fouls until the rest of his game fleshes out. That’s a good thing,” Favale said.

However, the rookie did give Bulls fans a glimpse of what a fully evolved Essengue looks like in his third outing. He scored 21 points on 7-of-14 shooting, including going 3-8 from three. He looked comfortable and showcased a decent handle and some playmaking.

Despite that, Favale said, “Offense is still very much a work-in-progress overall, as it is for almost any teenager. Essengue can be out of control going downhill and defaults to bail-out mid-range or contested layups when he gets into trouble.”

Unfortunately, the other side of the ball isn’t much better. “The defense just as all over the place. He can be pesky when playing at full bore and flashed high-energy on the glass,” the insider added. “He can also disappear from possessions or get caught playing catch-up after getting blown by.” Because of the ups and downs, Essengue earned a C, which is perhaps not totally unexpected given that he is a raw player who is still a work in progress.