Bulls Shut Down Jalen Smith & Jaden Ivey for the Season, Creating One Big Question

With only ten games left to go, the Chicago Bulls have officially shut down two players.

The team announced that both Jalen Smith and Jaden Ivey will miss the remainder of the 2025-26 campaign. Each player was expected to suit up for the Bulls down the final stretch, but has been dealing with a lingering injury. With the team currently sitting 12th in the Eastern Conference and tied for the 9th-worst record in the NBA, there is little reason for the players or training staff to push for a return. This is particularly true when we consider the potential severity of both issues.

Smith had been playing in recent weeks, but the Bulls were managing his minutes carefully. They were not allowing him to suit up in back-to-backs due to a calf strain that had flared up multiple times over the last few months. The longest streak of missed games Smith faced was five from the end of February into March. Overall, Smith has missed 12 of the team's last 24 games and has been managing the calf strain since late January.

Considering how prevalent severe calf injuries have been around the NBA in recent years, it is somewhat surprising the Bulls didn't choose to shut down Jalen Smith sooner. With that said, Smith was also in the thick of a career year. He has looked considerably more like the player many thought he would be coming out of Maryland, providing high-impact minutes at both the four and five.

Smith has averaged 10.2 points and 6.7 rebounds in his 20.7 minutes a night. The big man has also shot an impressive 37.3 percent from long range on a career-high attempts per game. For a Bulls team that doesn't have a single true center under contract for next season, Smith projects to be a key contributor in 2026-27.

What Happens Now With Jaden Ivey?

Jaden Ivey of the Chicago Bulls — Feb 11, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Chicago Bulls guard Jaden Ivey (31) brings the ball up the court against the Boston Celtics during the second half at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-Imagn Images | Winslow Townson-Imagn Images

Speaking of potential key contributors, the Jaden Ivey situation has gone from bad to worse. The guard was seen as one of Chicago's more intriguing deadline additions. Drafted No. 5 overall by the Detroit Pistons in 2022, the guard has shown a lot of promise ... when healthy.

Ivey has struggled to stay on the floor, most notably suffering a broken fibula a little less than halfway into his breakout third season. He then followed that up with a minor offseason knee surgery. While Ivey was able to play in 33 games for the Pistons before he was traded, there is no question that he didn't look the same athletically. Billy Donovan even said it himself after the guard complained of knee soreness on February 19.

Chicago would go on to rule Ivey out for at least two weeks, only for his missed games to easily surpass that mark. Nevertheless, they remained adamant that the plan was for Ivey to return. The Bulls even upgraded him to questionable to begin the week after over a month of strengthening his knee. So, why have they suddenly pivoted? Billy Donovan shared that Ivey bumped knees in practice and would need further evaluation. Obviously, it looks like the damage was bad enough to stop a potential return in its tracks.

While the Bulls grew used to life without Ivey, it's a brutal blow for a team that was hoping to evaluate his fit with core pieces like Josh Giddey and Matas Buzelis moving forward. The front office will now have to go into his restricted free agency with only a four-game sample size under their belt. The good news is that all the injury trouble may keep his price tag relatively low, but the Bulls still have to decide if they want to pay him at all. Could they potentially get him on a one-year prove-it deal? If one thing is for sure, this will not be an easy situation to navigate.

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