Featured part of Spurs' De'Aaron Fox trade is a complete disaster

When the San Antonio Spurs traded for De’Aaron Fox last season, it marked them taking a step forward. They were committed to building the best-possible team around Victor Wembanyama as quickly as possible, even if it meant trading form pieces in the short-term. One of those pieces was sent to the Chicago Bulls in the form of a 2025 first-round draft pick (which originally belonged to Chicago, anyway).

However, unfortunately for the Bulls, that pick looks like a complete and utter disaster right now. With the No. 12 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, the Bulls selected French forward Noa Essengue. And though it’s only been half a season, the pick looks awful.

And the Spurs should feel even better about trading it.

Now, to be clear, no matter what the Bulls did with the draft pick they got back from San Antonio, the Spurs were never going to view the Fox trade as a loss for them. That was fully dependent on his fit next to Wembanyama, and he’s been great in San Antonio.

However, knowing that the Bulls failed to make the most of the selection has to make the Spurs feel at least a little bit of satisfaction about the deal.

Chicago messed up the pick. They messed it up royally. They had a chance to take a legitimately impactful rookie, and they took a swing on a guy who couldn’t even crack their rotation.

Essengue is hurt right now, and he’s going to miss the rest of his rookie season. But even before he got hurt, Billy Donovan wasn’t playing him. It was a disaster.

To make matters worse, a lot of the guys who were selected after Essengue have been able to make an immediate impact for their teams while also showing solid long-term upside.

After the Bulls picked Essengue at 12, the New Orleans Pelicans immediately snagged Derik Queen at pick No. 13. He looks like a future All-Star and could have been perfect for the Bulls.

Though he hasn’t been amazing, Yang Hansen (No. 16) could have been a more intriguing developmental project than Essengue.

Two guys were right there. Right there. And the Bulls went with Essengue instead.

Obviously, from the Spurs’ perspective, they won the deal. They got a guy who can help them win for years. But looking back at things, the pick they traded ended up being even less valuable than they could have hoped.