Report: Bulls add center Jalen Smith on a 3-year contract in free agency

(670 The Score) Center Jalen Smith has agreed to a three-year, $27-million deal with the Bulls in free agency, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reported Monday morning.

Smith spent the past two-and-a-half seasons in primarily a reserve role for the Pacers. He averaged 9.9 points, 5.5 rebounds and 0.6 blocks in 17.2 minutes across 61 games, including 14 starts, for Indiana last season. Smith shot 59.2% overall and 42.4% on 3-pointers on 2.4 attempts per game from beyond the arc. He’s a career 33.5% 3-point shooter who showed significant improvement in that department last season.

At 24 years old, Smith is another recent addition for the Bulls who fits their step toward more of a youth movement. Chicago recently traded veteran guard Alex Caruso for 21-year-old point guard Josh Giddey, and it added 19-year-old forward Matas Buzelis with the No. 11 overall pick in the NBA Draft last Wednesday. The Bulls also reached an agreement late Saturday to bring back 22-year-old forward Patrick Williams on a five-year, $90-million deal.

On Sunday evening, veteran center Andre Drummond left the Bulls to sign a two-year deal with the 76ers in free agency.

Smith projects to be veteran center Nikola Vucevic’s backup, assuming Vucevic returns to the team. If the Bulls were to trade Vucevic – which would be a difficult task, given his contract and declining skill set –  Smith would be in line to start at center.

The Suns selected Smith with the No. 10 overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft. Phoenix then traded him to Indiana in February 2022 after having already decided it wasn't going to exercise the third-year team option on Smith's contract for the following season.