Bulls draft Noa Essengue, who abandoned his team in the middle of the playoffs

Noa Essengue is the second-youngest player in this NBA Draft class, behind Cooper Flagg.

And now he's the No. 12 overall pick, to the Chicago Bulls.

There's one red flag here, though.

Essengue left his German league team, Ratiopharm Ulm, in the middle of the playoffs.

They were playing a best-of-five series against Bayern Munich for the league championship when Essengue left to attend the NBA Draft.

“The draft is really special, that’s maybe the best day of my life. I trust my teammates, I know they’ll do their job," Essengue said before the draft.

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On X before the draft, ESPN's Fran Fraschilla said he wasn't too concerned about it.

Essengue was barely playing in the playoff series. Guys his age rarely get big minutes in Europe, at least when they aren't Luka Doncic.

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He's a gifted talent with lots of upside that still has lots of room to grow, so in that realm, it's a good pick for the Bulls.

But there's at least a tad to be concerned about.

It's a tricky choice, to be sure, and Essengue chose the once-in-a-lifetime moment rather than support the team he was leaving. It's probably fair, but it's something to note.

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