The writing was on the wall during the NBA Summer League.
Even when Bulls rookie Noa Essengue was scoring, there were too many moments in which he was getting overwhelmed physically by players his own age — moments that obviously wouldn’t translate well once the 18-year-old had to compete against grown men.
Now, with five preseason games under his belt, those concerns have become reality. That reality screams that, at least for the start of the regular season, it will be tough for Essengue — the 12th overall pick of the draft in June — to get consistent playing time.
‘‘The kid’s feel is really good,’’ Bulls coach Billy Donovan said. ‘‘He understands spacing and movement, but . . . he’s got to really invest a lot of time in his body. He’s got to learn to play a little bit lower to the ground because he does lack a little bit of strength. He doesn’t really do much off the dribble, and when he’s cutting, the physicality is moving him off of screens and out of place. I think those will all be part of his development piece.
‘‘But in terms of the IQ piece and him knowing who he is as a player, the way he plays the game, I think [he’s] very good.’’
That’s definitely a positive, but it’s not enough for Essengue to be a factor in the frontcourt, given the Bulls’ deep roster.
Matas Buzelis and Isaac Okoro look to be the starters, and Patrick Williams, Julian Phillips, Dalen Terry and Jalen Smith outperformed Essengue during the preseason. Essengue averaged 3.8 points and 1.8 rebounds in just less than 14 minutes per game. He didn’t shoot the ball well from three-point range (11.1%) and shot only 33% overall.
Fortunately for him, he will have time to work on his development. The beginning of the schedule will allow the Bulls a lot of practice time, then Essengue could go back and forth to the Windy City Bulls of the G League for practices and games once they start up.
‘‘The ball beats his feet a lot of times,’’ Donovan said. ‘‘What I mean by that is, when he catches it, he’s never quite ready to make the next move. That’s something we’ve spent a lot of time with him on. In terms of in-space defensive, he’s really good. He’s long, he’s got good instincts. But when it gets body-on-body, he’s got to be able to get over pick-and-rolls. Those things are new to him.’’
Also working in Essengue’s favor is that he won’t be alone with Windy City. Second-round pick Lachlan Olbrich also will get a heavy dose in the G League. The hope was also to have point guard Yuki Kawamura in the G League, but he was waived Friday because of a medical condition.
Kawamura could have been a nice piece to help Essengue’s development, not only because of his passing ability but also because of the way he can push the pace. But three-time dunk contest winner Mac McClung will have to do for now.
Essengue also will be helped by the maturity he gained from playing overseas in the German league.
‘‘I’m encouraged by him just because of who he is and the make-up of him as a player and a person,’’ Donovan said.