Bulls Have a Solid Trade Chip in Jalen Smith, and the Lakers Might Have Interest

The dog days have summer have arrived for the Chicago Bulls.

The offseason started with a bang. Following another underwhelming and messy season, ownership finally decided to move on from the brain trust of Arturas Karnisovas and Marc Eversley. This led to the unexpected hiring of Bryson Graham – the relatively unknown and young Atlanta Hawks GM. He has since brought in Tiago Splitter as the organization's head coach, preaching a far more transparent and pragmatic team-building approach.

More specifically, unlike his predecessor, Graham has not shied away from using the term rebuild. He has embraced the idea of starting from the ground up, which was almost immediately rewarded by the basketball gods with the No. 4 overall pick in the NBA Draft.

Of course, this pick turned into Caleb Wilson, who then went on to look as good as advertised at Summer League. The Bulls will now head into the 2026-27 campaign with one of the favorites to win Rookie of the Year. They have also surrounded him with some veteran leadership, signing sharpshooter Norman Powell to a free-agent deal and acquiring Nic Claxton in a multi-team trade.

The expectation now is that things remain pretty quiet in the lead-up to preseason hoops. Graham has seemingly made his immediate changes and will now use 2026-27 to evaluate his young pieces and decide what's next. Again, the Bulls have suggested this will be a full reboot, where patience will be key.

At the same time, you never know when an opportunity may present itself. The Bulls would be silly to shut themselves off from any conversations, especially as other contenders attempt to fill in their remaining gaps ahead of October.

Chicago still has a couple of veteran role players on the roster who could make a lot of sense for other teams. While the Bulls may prefer to wait until the deadline to move those pieces, it couldn't hurt to survey the landscape now, especially after hearing The Athletic's latest report!

Jalen Smith Drawing Trade Interest?

Mar 16, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Bulls forward Jalen Smith (25) greets fans after the game against the Memphis Grizzlies at United Center. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Athletic's Dan Woike recently wrote about the Los Angeles Lakers' lack of big man depth. While the organization went all-out to land Walker Kessler this offseason, the loss of LeBron James still meant they took a hit in the size and length department. Kevon Looney is currently their best option behind Kessler, but his effectiveness can be very matchup-dependent.

This led Woike to use what he's heard around the league and from inside the organization to put together a list of possible targets. And arguably the headliners on that list were the Bulls' Jalen Smith.

Woike specifically noted that Smith has some fans inside the Lakers. He did mention that the $9.4 million salary could be too rich for the front office's blood. But let's not forget that it's an expiring deal, which could make adding him to the books all the more interesting for an already expensive Lakers roster.

Still only 26 years old and coming off one of the best seasons of his career, it wouldn't be hard to understand why the Bulls want to keep him. Smith fits relatively well with Bryson Graham's SLAP model, offering great length and good mobility. Is he the strongest or most coordinated big man? No, but he plays with an incredibly high motor and is fresh off shooting 37.3 percent from downtown.

Indeed, Smith's floor-spacing potential shouldn't be overlooked. This Bulls team is really lacking proven shooters, which could be a problem with wings like Caleb Wilson, Dailyn Swain, and Matas Buzelis in the mix. All are at their best getting downhill, so it's best to pair them with frontcourt players who make sense along the perimeter.

Would that really be reason enough to not pick up the phone, though? The Bulls should be in asset accumulation mode. The truth is that Smith might walk as soon as next summer. We're also bound to see his role diminish slightly on this updated roster. A lot of Smith's best work in 2025-26 came at the power forward position, but those minutes could be gobbled up by Wilson, Buzelis, or even Noa Essengue.

In other words, depending on what the Lakers are willing to offer, this might actually be the Bulls' opportunity to sell high. The previous front office misjudged those situations repeatedly, and Graham can't afford to make the same mistake.

None of this means the Bulls should be pushing hard to move Smith right now. They themselves are in need of more traditional bigs behind Nic Claxton, especially when considering Zach Collins has always struggled to stay healthy. But Chicago needs to be open for business in essentially any capacity. Smith could be one of their better trade chips, as his versatility proved to be a real asset last season.

So ... what could the Lakers offer? Admittedly, it's tough to come up with a great offer. They don't have first-rounders to deal and likely wouldn't in this case. The Bulls could try to get a couple of second-rounders, but are they all that eager to add to their already-stuffed arsenal?

Another option could be taking a chance on someone like Dalton Knecht or Jaden Hardy. Both could add some backcourt depth and off-the-dribble scoring to the team. Alas, neither really feels worth swapping for Smith at this point.

Above all else, this rumor from Woike serves as a good reminder that the Bulls should stay vigilant. Teams will be working hard to fill roster holes over the next couple of weeks, and players like Smith, Tre Jones, or Isaac Okoro could begin to draw some real interest. Finding a way to take advantage of that is a big reason why Graham was brought in only a few months back.

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