The Chicago Bulls are trending toward putting a much younger group on the floor next season than they did last year. They traded Alex Caruso, want to trade Zach LaVine, and could look to trade Nikola Vucevic if DeMar DeRozan leaves in free agency as expected.
One of their new additions, center Jalen Smith, would certainly benefit from Vucevic being moved.
Smith could be a major value for the Bulls after agreeing to a three-year, $27 million contract.
“He definitely has more potential than he has shown,” an anonymous rival Eastern Conference coach said, per The Athletic’s Darnell Mayberry on July 2. “But (I’m) not sure about his mental game.”
Mayberry said the coach’s uncertainty was due to a lack of familiarity rather than a statement on Smith’s basketball IQ.
He also said an Indiana Pacers exec called Smith “ one of the best pros” he worked with.
“[Smith] is just all confidence. I think he can do everything,” Pacers center Myles Turner said, per All Pacers’ Tony East in November. “He can shoot, he can make stuff down low, he can roll. I think his thing is just getting that dose of confidence.”
Spotrac projects Smith to count $8.5 million against the salary cap in 2024-25 with a final charge of $9.4 million for the final season in 2026-27.
Insider: Bulls’ Jalen Smith ‘Incredibly Valuable’
The coach pointed to the change of scenery being a potential jumpstarter for Smith, per Mayberry, though he also said the 24-year-old pivot needs more “freedom.”
Last year’s backup to Vucevic, Andre Drummond, averaged 15 minutes per game.
Smith averaged 17 minutes per game with the Pacers last season, averaging a career-best 9.9 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 1.0 assists. He averaged 11.1 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 1.6 assists in 14 starts with 61 total appearances. He also shot a career-best 42.4% from deep.
“He’s not simply a young, mobile big man who attacks the offensive glass, blocks shots and runs the floor. He’s also a 3-point shooting big,” Mayberry wrote. “That makes Smith incredibly valuable. How impactful he is for the Bulls will depend largely on how he develops. But the strides Smith has taken must be seen as encouraging.”
The former No. 10 overall pick of the 2020 draft – the same class that saw new teammate Patrick Williams go No. 4 to the Bulls – Smith set out to take those strides last offseason.
Listed at 215 pounds, he entered camp saying he was more than 25 pounds heavier.
Jalen Smith Delivered on Preseason Goal
“Offseason’s been great,” Smith told reporters in October. “Pretty much the whole focus was just getting better in every aspect; body-wise and the weight room, on the court. I’m up to like 243 [pounds] now, so I’ve been putting on the pounds. And then, obviously, just expanded my game offensively and defensively on the court.”
Smith said his weight gain was experimental to see how much his body could handle. He also said the experiment “went well.”
“It’s just being more strong on the court,” Smith said. “My body frame was just being heavy up top and sort of skinny at the bottom. But I got a lot of muscle at the bottom now. So it’s just being able to withstand myself and just saying hits and stuff like that.”
Asked which skills he wanted to improve from 2022-23, Smith lamented his shooting first.
He went from 28.3% from deep in 2022-23 with a previous career-high mark of 32.8%, set in 2021-22.
Smith struggled in the postseason, losing his spot in the rotation to 2021 first-round pick Isaiah Jackson. The Bulls offer Smith a chance at a fresh start. It remains unclear if that will be as the team’s starter or off the bench, though.
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