When Nic Claxton went down in the preseason with a hamstring strain, it seemed as though the Chicago Bulls might be in some immediate trouble.
After all, their acquisiton of Claxton this offseason for the simple price of absorbing him into their cap space solved a glaring need at center. With Nikola Vucevic off the roster, the Bulls needed to identify a player who could take on a large share of minutes and also help operate Chicago's new fast-paced offense. Claxton isn't an All-Star caliber player, but he can certainly accomplish those things at this point in his career.
Beyond that, the Bulls seemingly had limited options to take on those big man responsibilities. Zach Collins is a limited scorer and defender, and besides that, he's still easing his way back from the injuries that ended his 2025-26 campaign. Jalen Smith, meanwhile, projects more solidly as a small-ball five for use in certain situations rather than an anchor at the position.
That latter projection hasn't changed. But Smith has shown immense upside working in the starting lineup through five games, especially in terms of his chemistry with Josh Giddey in the two-man game.
Claxton will likely be the starter when he returns, but Smith has shown more than enough through this early stretch to deserve a major role even when the rotation becomes whole again.
Jalen Smith deserves the spotlight he's getting—and Nic Claxton might not be long for this roster, anyways
Smith was one of a small set of players who had a real chance to elevate their games after the roster was stripped down at last season's trade deadline. Although his opportunities in that context were limited by a re-aggravated calf injury, he still managed to show signs of the enhanced scoring and rebounding that many expected him to showcase.
Through the first five games of 2026-27, he's brought that fully into the spotlight. He's started at the center position in each of the Bulls' matchups so far, averaging 13.4 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 1.8 assists while shooting 49% from the field. Although his 3-point efficiency has taken a dip—he's shooting just 33.3% from beyond the arc to this point in the season—it's reasonable to assume that will advance closer to the mean as well.
He's been a solid presence in the team's transition offense, but it's in the halfcourt where he's truly shined, working off the pick-and-roll game with Giddey and showing some physicality and finesse working his way to the basket. That sort of developing chemistry is a major positive to draw from the Bulls' first few games of this regular season.
Claxton will likely take over the starting spot when he returns. The Bulls are still allowing an average of 51.2 points in the paint with Smith as the starter (good for 19th in the league), and Claxton's rim protecting abilities, combined with his fit in the fast-paced Chicago offense, give him a clear path to claiming back that role from Smith. But Claxton has steadily averaged a workload somewhere in the 27-29 minute range over the past few seasons, meaning there will be ample opportunity for Smith to still carve out a role as a high-usage backup big.
A viable option would be taking Claxton out of games early, perhaps well before the mid-way point in the first quarter, to give him some rest and give Smith the opportunity to have crossover minutes with Giddey. At the very least, he's earned that.
From a future-looking standpoint, though, part of the reason the Claxton acquisition was so savvy is that there's only one year remaining on his deal beyond 2026-27—and it's priced at a declining $21 million. That makes Claxton immanently tradeable. Even if Chicago doesn't want to move their starting big man this season, continuing to develop Smith as a potential starting option—even in the short-term—is likely the team's best move. It will at least give them some clarity as to their options for extending him beyond this season.
Claxton is slated to start ramping up his conditioning next week. For now, though, we can simply bask in Smith's development in this early portion of the season—and hope that his minutes aren't decimated when the rotation becomes whole again.
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