Jalen Smith fits right in with the Chicago Bulls' youth movement

With DeMar DeRozan and Alex Caruso being shipped out of town and Josh Giddey being the big name acquisition, the Chicago Bulls’ acquisition of center Jalen Smith has flown under-the-radar.

The 24-year-old played 17.2 minutes per game for the Indiana Pacers last season and experienced a career-year as a shooter, nailing 42.4 percent of his 2.4 three-point attempts per game. He signed a three-year, $27 million deal in Chicago to replace Andre Drummond as the team’s backup center.

In addition to his floor spacing, Smith is a versatile big who can switch onto guards and protect the rim. He can attack the offensive glass and roll to the rim to catch lobs. Most importantly, fits in with the timeline the Bulls are now working on.

“A whole lot of versatility,” Smith told reporters following training camp at the Advocate Center. “That and energy, effort and intensity. Obviously being a young guy, being athletic. I feel like one of my prides is running up and down the court. You know, a lot of big men in the league don’t like running. That’s going with our identity this year, playing fast is gonna help a lot.”

“Stix” as he was dubbed by his AAU coach because he was so skinny in high school, viewed the Bulls as a team that fit his play style. A team he could slot into and provide value as they transition to a group of younger players with experience.

“Obviously this is a team that’s rebuilding,” Smith explained his decision to join the Bulls. “I wanted to be a part of that as a young guy still trying to learn my way in the league.”

“Pretty much the pitch from them here was just to be a basketball player, come in and play,” he continued. “That’s something that attracted me a lot. And obviously I got history with Coby (White) and Ayo (Dosunmu) and Talen (Horton-Tucker) and all of them. So it was a no-brainer at that point.”

One of the big questions for Smith is whether he can replicate his hyper efficient three-point shooting from last season. Going from 28.3 percent in 2022-23 to 42.4 percent in 2023-24 is a massive leap that he will need to prove is here to stay.

“Pretty much, it’s not caring,” he admitted, when asked what led to his shooting improvements. “You know, after a while, early on, when I would shoot a lot of threes, I would miss them, and it would affect the next shot. But going into the summer, just I kept the same routine and got up a whole bunch of shots. And at the end of the day, if the shot goes in, it goes in. If not, oh well, on to the next one. So I think that helped me out a lot.”

Smith had the benefit of playing off of All-NBA guard Tyrese Haliburton in Indiana who provided him easy looks in pick-and-roll and easy opportunities any time he would run the floor. But Smith views the Bulls’ collection of young guards as players who can help him contribute in other ways.

“You got Coby, Josh, Ayo that drag a lot of attention on them in pick-and-roll situations, that’s gonna open up a lot of pop opportunities for me and a lot of role opportunities,” Smith said. “So I feel that I get the best of both worlds here.”

Smith’s shooting and versatility gives the Bulls a different look. They’ll need some rim protection and the ability to switch onto the perimeter if the Bulls want to avoid bottoming out on defense following the departure of Caruso.

“I’m allowed to be able to put in many different situations. If you go in late game, you want to switch everything, me being able to switch onto a guard and keep them in front of me for three, four dribbles, it helps a lot down the stretch,” Smith said. “And I feel as though, like I said, going back to that defensive versatility, it just opens up a lot for our team.”

Having lost a steady contributor at the backup five in Drummond, the Bulls need someone to step in and replace those minutes. But they also need a long term option to take over the reigns as starter in a few years time.

Obviously, Nikola Vucevic is still around, and has this year and next left on his deal. But as the team trends younger, it’s possible they look to move on from the veteran at some point before his deal ends. Is that part of the reason Smith elected to join the team — an opportunity to be the long-term starter at the center spot?

“Time tells, you know,” he said. “I mean, at the end of the day, whenever I’m on the court, I’m gonna be on the court. I’m gonna play hard for how long I’m on the court and be a great teammate when I’m off.”

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