The Lakers have star power at the top of the roster, but the real test of a contender is what happens when the rotation gets deeper. That’s where Chicago Bulls big man Jalen Smith starts to make a lot of sense for Los Angeles.
Smith would give the Lakers the kind of backup center they can actually use in a playoff run: a big body who can rebound, protect the rim, and still keep defenses honest on the other end. Last season, before a right calf injury ended his year, he put up 10.2 points, 6.7 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 0.5 steals, and 0.8 blocks per game while shooting 48.3% from the field and 37.3% from three in 53 games. That blend of size and spacing is exactly the sort of skill set modern teams want behind a starting center.
In the proposed deal, the Lakers would send Dalton Knecht and Jaden Hardy to Chicago in exchange for Smith. It’s a clean swap on paper, and one that addresses very different goals for each team.
For Los Angeles, the appeal is obvious. Smith isn’t coming in to play huge minutes or reshape the offense.
He’s there to be reliable. The Lakers need someone who can step in when Walker Kessler sits, gets in foul trouble, or simply runs into a bad matchup.
Smith, at 26, fits that assignment without feeling like a short-term patch job from an older veteran. He’s already logged time with Phoenix, Indiana, and Chicago, and his 2025-26 numbers showed he can produce in a real role, not just spot duty.
He averaged 10.2 points and 6.7 rebounds in 53 games, including 21 starts.
The contract also works in Los Angeles’ favor. Smith is owed $9.43 million for 2026-27, and that season is fully guaranteed.
For a team already carrying major money for Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves and Kessler, that’s a meaningful detail. He’s not cheap, but he’s not the kind of long-term financial anchor that boxes the Lakers in either.
Chicago would be taking a different kind of swing. Instead of keeping Smith on a $9.4 million expiring contract, the Bulls would add two younger players who might fit a rebuild better than a veteran center.
Hardy is 24 and has the kind of profile a rebuilding team can afford to be patient with. He’s on a $6 million deal for 2026-27, but the Lakers’ crowded backcourt makes it hard to promise him real minutes. In 57 appearances last season, including four starts, he averaged 9.2 points, 1.5 rebounds, 1.0 assists, 0.3 steals, and 0.1 blocks while shooting 39.7% from three.
Knecht is the more intriguing of the two. The 25-year-old wing was the No. 17 pick in the 2024 draft, and his shooting gives him a real starting point.
His 2026-27 salary is just $4.2 million, which makes him a low-cost developmental bet. Last season, he averaged 4.2 points per game while shooting 45.5% from the field and 34.2% from deep in 54 games, playing 10.2 minutes per night.
Chicago’s logic is straightforward: two younger players with upside can be more valuable than one veteran big on a contract that’s about to expire. Neither Hardy nor Knecht is a sure thing, but that’s the kind of gamble a rebuilding team can make.
For the Lakers, this is about tightening the margins. They don’t need Smith to be a featured piece.
They need him to survive 15 to 20 minutes a night, give them size, and let Luka Doncic have another big who can pull a defender away from the paint. That kind of stability matters more in April than it does in October.
It’s not a headline-grabbing blockbuster. But if Los Angeles wants to make sure its frontcourt doesn’t fall apart when the starter sits, Smith is the sort of move that could quietly pay off when it matters most.
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