Even worse than Hansen? Bulls confirm sending 12th pick down to G League: Has yet to play since season start

On November 1st Beijing time, Bulls head coach Donovan stated that forward Noah Essengue, picked 12th in the first round of the 2025 NBA Draft, will not accompany the team to New York for next Monday’s matchup against the Knicks.

This 18-year-old rookie will be sent down to the G League tomorrow to join the Windy City Bulls, the Bulls’ affiliate team, starting training and playing with them. The Windy City Bulls’ training camp is currently in its early stages, with their new season opener scheduled for next week.

According to team reporter Johnson, Essengue is likely to spend a significant part of his rookie season with the Windy City Bulls. The French forward has yet to appear in an NBA regular season game for the Bulls, who have started this season undefeated at 5-0, leading the Eastern Conference.

U.S. media reported that Essengue played professionally last year in the German league, but his performances in the Las Vegas Summer League and preseason have not yet met NBA standards. Therefore, he requires more time to develop and adjust to the NBA’s pace and physicality, making this assignment to the G League unsurprising.

Hansen was the 16th pick this year, and among the 15 rookies selected before him, 13 have already played in regular season games. Only the 12th pick Essengue and the 15th pick Sober have yet to appear. Sober, who plays for the Thunder, is out for the season due to injury. Compared to Essengue, Hansen has at least received some playing time, though he lost his spot after Lowry returned, whereas Essengue has not played at all since the season began.

In today’s game against the Nuggets, Yang Hansen experienced his first career DNP, not getting any playing time. Moving forward, the Trail Blazers’ approach to developing Hansen might resemble the Bulls’ strategy with Essengue, sending him to the G League to gain more minutes and continue adapting to high-level competition.