3 trades Bulls can make without giving up Williams or White: Jalen Smith
The Phoenix Suns surprised many with their decision earlier this year to decline the final two years of former No. 11 overall pick Jalen Smith‘s team option. As a 2019 lottery pick, Smith was perceived to be highly valued by the franchise, but he will now be an unrestricted free agent this offseason and the Suns will lose him for nothing.
Ironically, Smith has also submitted the best play of his career since this decision was made. With frontman Deandre Ayton missing plenty of time due to a variety of injuries, Smith has gotten a limited chance to shine.
In the four games, Smith was allowed to start this season, he averaged 17.3 points, 9.5 rebounds, and a block per contest. While not typically known for his shooting ability, he showed a willingness by hitting 3-of-8 three-point attempts (37.5 percent), and 10-of-11 free throws (90.9 percent) during that span.
Perhaps most impressive of all, Smith posted that monstrous stat line in just 24.9 minutes per game. Should the Bulls make a move to acquire the 6-foot-10 forward, he would easily be able to carve out a role of 20 minutes per night at the backup power forward and center slots.
While the Suns are soaked in talent at the guard and center positions, they could use a bit more depth behind Mikal Bridges. This is a large reason why they were willing to take a flyer on former Bull Chandler Hutchison, before being forced to cut him due to his poor play. Cameron Johnson is the only established forward off the bench, but he has been extremely effective at the power forward slot.
The Bulls could offer up Troy Brown Jr., who could fill the role they wished Hutchison could perfectly. He would have no issue finding minutes in their rotation, with his only competition being an injured Abdel Nader. Chicago, on the other hand, has a logjam at the forward slot and could desperately use the size Smith provides.
With both these young players set to hit free agency this summer, this feels like a perfect temporary fix and an easy swap for the two parties to make.
Proposed Trade:
While many Chicago Bulls fans are dead set on spamming social media feeds with Jerami Grant, Christian Wood, and other highly paid sub-star players, it’s far more likely that Arturas Karnisovas and Marc Eversley stick to their guns and go for a more low-key move. Regardless of what they decide to do, their decision-making has been impeccable thus far. I fully believe they’ll do their due diligence when it comes to any potential roster shake-ups, and that includes looking over trades for Grant and trades like those listed above alike.