Chicago Bulls: 3 players to avoid trading down for in 2020 draft

3) Prospects Chicago Bulls should not trade down for: Jalen Smith

The former Maryland Terrapins 6-foot-10 and 230 pound power forward, and former five-star recruit, Jalen Smith is highly regarded as a potential mid-to-late first round pick in this 2020 NBA Draft class. Smith was arguably Maryland’s best player on what was a really good team in the Big Ten during the 2019-20 season.

With that, Smith finished out his two year run with the Maryland hoops program with All-Big Ten Freshman Team honors, 2019-20 All-Big Ten First-Team selection, and 2019-20 All-Big Ten Defensive Team honors. Smith was also on the watch lists for the Wooden Award at the midway point of the 2019-20 campaign, and in the late season.

Smith played in 31 games (starting in all of them), during the 2019-20 season for the Terps. He averaged 15.5 points per game, 10.5 rebounds, 0.8 assists, 0.7 steals, and 2.4 blocks. Smith shot 53.8 percent from the field, 36.8 percent from beyond the arc, and 75.0 percent from the free-throw line. That amounted to a career-best 12.0 box plus/minus rating, .249 win shares per 40 minutes, and a sparkling 62.6 true shooting percentage.

Moreover, Smith has a lot of solid stat lines to his name from both of his seasons in College Park, MD. But if he falls as a mid-first round pick in the 2020 draft, then he’s not really worth the Bulls trading down for since they’re pretty solid at the spot in the rotation that he would fill. Smith could be a good stretch big man in the NBA, but his potential might be limited to quality role player.