Free agent center Jalen Smith will join the Bulls on a three-year, $27M contract, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Smith became an unrestricted free agent on Friday by declining his $5.42M player option for next season. The 24-year-old, who ranks 44th on our list of the top 50 free agents, winds up with a nice raise and a longer deal in Chicago.
Smith is expected to be the Bulls‘ new backup center after Andre Drummond
agreed to terms with Philadelphia on Sunday night. With no available cap space, Chicago will likely sign Smith with a portion of its $12.822M non-taxpayer mid-level exception. Whether they use the MLE or acquire him via sign-and-trade, the Bulls will be hard-capped at the first tax apron of $178,132,000.
After being selected by Phoenix with the 10th pick in the 2020 draft, Smith was sent to Indiana at the 2022 trade deadline. He became a valuable backup in two-and-a-half years with the Pacers and played rotation minutes as the team reached the Eastern Conference Finals. He averaged 9.9 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.0 assists in 61 games this season while shooting 59.2% from the floor and 42.4% from three-point range.
The addition of Smith is one of several recent moves the Bulls have made to create a younger, more athletic roster and become less reliant on veterans. They traded for Josh Giddey and agreed to terms on a new five-year deal with free agent Patrick Williams over the weekend.