The Chicago Bulls’ offseason is buzzing with draft rumors, and one name persistently linked to the franchise is BYU’s Egor Demin. Numerous mock drafts and even reports from the Chicago Sun Times suggest the Bulls are “zoning in” on the jumbo playmaker. However, a deeper dive into Demin’s skillset reveals a concerning overlap with existing Bulls talents, raising a critical question: Are the Bulls targeting the wrong versatile wing, potentially doubling down on a costly mistake? This analysis argues that despite Demin’s intriguing profile, his glaring weaknesses make him a subpar fit for a team already grappling with similar issues, and instead, a different European prospect offers a far more compelling solution.
Egor Demin: A Playmaker with Familiar Flaws Egor Demin, a 6-foot-9 playmaker from BYU, is undeniably one of the more “intriguing prospects” in the upcoming draft. His collegiate averages of 10.6 points, 3.9 rebounds, 5.5 assists, 1.2 steals, and 1.3 three-pointers per game showcase a versatile statistical profile. He’s touted as an “instinctual playmaker, with an advanced feel for the game.”
However, the core issue with Demin’s fit in Chicago lies in his “glaring weaknesses” that “overlap with Josh Giddey’s.” Specifically, Demin is a “subpar three-point shooter,” hitting merely 27.3 percent from deep, with a “50.9 true shooting percentage” that doesn’t inspire confidence. For context, Giddey, a player of similar mold, shot 29.3% from three in his pre-NBA career. Both players, despite their playmaking instincts, “lack the requisite athleticism to make a difference defensively, and have more questions than answers on the offensive end.”
The concern for the Bulls is evident: if they are about to “sign a player of the same ilk [Josh Giddey] to a five-year contract,” bringing in Demin would create a problematic redundancy. Demin is “best suited as a team’s primary playmaker” and “does the most damage with the ball in his hands.” But the Bulls already have ball-dominant playmakers in Giddey and arguably Coby White, who “starred in a higher usage role in the latter half of the 2024-25 season.” There’s simply “not much room for a hoard of primarily ball handlers on the Bulls or any team in the NBA.” This indicates a fundamental misreading of their roster needs if the Demin rumors prove true.
Noa Essengue: The True Versatile Wing Chicago Needs Instead of a “Giddey clone,” the Bulls should pivot their focus to France’s Noa Essengue. At 18 years old, Essengue, playing for Ratiopharm Ulm in Germany, offers a far more complementary skillset. He averages 10.5 points, 5.1 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 0.7 steals, and 0.6 blocks, demonstrating a more balanced two-way game. Critically, he has “upped his counting stats as the competition has heightened over the past month,” scoring 14 or more points in four of his last six appearances and averaging 8.0 rebounds over that stretch. This shows a promising ability to perform under pressure and against higher-level competition.
While Essengue “isn’t nearly as refined a playmaker as Demin” (with nearly as many turnovers as assists), “besides passing (and maybe three-point shooting), Essengue is better across the board than Demin.” His key attributes align perfectly with what the Bulls truly need: he’s “incredibly quick for his size, boasts impressive length, is uniquely switchable, and possesses a tremendous motor.” These physical and athletic traits are crucial for defensive versatility, an area where Demin struggles.
Essengue’s ability to “suit up at either the three or the four, and perhaps even play some small-ball five in a pinch” provides the positional flexibility that Demin, as a primary ball-handler, does not. While there might be some overlap with Matas Buzelis’ skillset and physical profile, “the value placed on two-way wings compared to non-shooting, jumbo-sized playmakers is second to none.” Essengue offers a significantly “better fit” and a much “higher ceiling” for the Bulls, filling more voids and being “much easier to fit into the Bulls’ rotation.”
The Chicago Bulls’ rumored interest in Egor Demin, while highlighting a desire for a versatile wing, appears to be a miscalculation. His statistical profile, particularly his subpar shooting and defensive limitations, unfortunately mirror those of Josh Giddey, creating an undesirable redundancy in the backcourt. Instead, the Bulls should aggressively pursue Noa Essengue. Essengue’s superior athleticism, defensive versatility, and ability to play multiple frontcourt positions offer a far more impactful and complementary skillset to the existing roster. As the Bulls navigate a critical draft, prioritizing a true two-way wing like Essengue over a playmaking clone could be the difference between a minor roster tweak and a strategic leap forward, truly enhancing their long-term competitive outlook.