What Does Noa Essengue Need To Do To Make The Bulls' Rotation?

Wreak havoc. It sounds a bit much, but Noa Essengue genuinely needs to be a disruptive force on defense to get Tiago Splitter's attention come the start of NBA preseason (Oct. 7 for Chicago). 

It is possible that Essengue is already in the doghouse of his new coach, receiving up-and-down playing time over his stint in the NBA Summer League, averaging 6.5 PPG and 4.5 RPG while shooting 41.9% from the field and a concerning 54.5% on 11 total free throw attempts. 

While the shooting numbers are obviously ghastly, he did put up some impressive raw defensive numbers. He collected 1.2 steals and 1.8 blocks per game despite only receiving 18.6 minutes per game. 

Splitter coached a chunk of the Bulls' Summer league schedule, and it was notable that Essengue started on two of the four games he played in Las Vegas. This signals that Splitter may have the same long-term development project view of Essengue that former Bulls HC Billy Donovan appeared to have. 

That being said, the eye test rarely fails and Essengue had too many flashes where he simply looked disinterested on the court. Assuming there is no health concerns we weren't aware of, Essengue should've been going 110% to prove to his new front office he is just as valuable as the last front office suspected he was.

With elite measurements and enough G-League and Summer league tape to show that there is some real defensive potential, the ball is quite literally in Essengue's court when it comes to showing Splitter and the new staff that he can be a valuable addition to the Bulls collection of lanky, athletic wings.