The Chicago Bulls are well on their way to rebuilding a roster around size, length, athleticism and physicality. A pair of straightforward trades would help them lean into that even more — while at the same time adding future assets.
Sending Jalen Smith to the Los Angeles Lakers and acquiring Jericho Sims from the Milwaukee Bucks would give the Bulls more depth and a better fit behind Nic Claxton. Chicago would likely come out of both deals with additional draft capital, as well.
Two simple trades could help Bulls rebuild frontcourt and add picks
Smith has been a rumored target of the Lakers for about a week, according to Dan Woike of The Athletic (subscription required). The 26-year-old would give LA another dimension behind massive (literally) offseason addition Walker Kessler.
Smith is also heading into the final year of his contract at $9.5 million. If the Bulls aren't interested in re-signing him, which is a very real possibility, sending him elsewhere to avoid letting him walk for nothing would be good business.
Milwaukee, meanwhile, is facing a roster crunch, as Michael Scotto of HoopsHype points out. The Bucks will have to trim their roster from 17 to 15 by the time the regular season tips off.
The Bucks acquired a high-potential, 22-year-old big man in Kel'el Ware as part of the Giannis Antetokounmpo trade and already employ veteran Myles Turner. Presumably, those two will soak up the bulk of Milwaukee's center minutes.
That gives Chicago an opening on multiple fronts.
Bulls can trade Jalen Smith to Lakers, add Jericho Sims from Bucks
The framework for a potential Smith trade could bring back swingman Dalton Knecht and forward Jake LaRavia, along with draft picks. Chicago should be able to squeeze multiple second-round selections out of the Lakers.
Acquiring Sims would be cheap. Perhaps one second-rounder would get the deal done, given Milwaukee's need to cut bait on at least two players.
And the 27-year-old is a better fit for this iteration of the Bulls, anyway.
Executive VP of basketball operations Bryson Graham loves his SLAP players, and though Sims is limited as a big man, he certainly fits that archetype.
The former Texas standout is a wildly explosive athlete for his size at 6-foot-10 and 250 pounds. He's a legitimate lob threat, which is ideal for an offense orchestrated by Josh Giddey.
His averages of 5.0 points and 5.5 rebounds in 19.7 minutes per game across 67 games last season with the Bucks are nothing to write home about, but as a depth piece behind Claxton and Zach Collins (when healthy), he's at least serviceable.
The Bulls would come out of these deals a net positive, and neither should be a complicated trade to make.
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