Jalen Smith is the by far the best player on the Chicago Bulls and should be a primary trade target for any contending team in the NBA while his value remains low. normal centers do not rebound & protect the rim at this high a level whilst simultaneously taking 5 threes a game.

the strong caveat with the Stretch Big archetype is their usual lack-of “normal bigman things” like crashing glass and being a serviceable rim anchor. so it would be malpractice to ignore when those centers in the league exist that DO stretch the floor AND DO “bigman things.”

Smith didn’t start posting a >50 3pr until he joined the Bulls, but he’s been doing these “normal bigman things” at an exceptional level whilst stretching the floor ever since he was in college! & has been largely responsible for elevating terrible Bulls lineups for 3 years now

the luxury in having a big with this intersection of traits lies with how easy they fit into a multitude of lineup variations. given this, i think most contending teams would benefit from Smith’s presence either way , but a team I really like would be the Toronto Raptors—

—one of my personal favorite teams to watch, which would allow CMB and Scottie Barnes to seamlessly play on the court together without the worry of sacrificing one of the facets of spacing, rebounding, or paint defense. Again, this goes for most teams as well, though.