Chicago Bulls Rumors: Dennis Smith on Bulls’ radar?

The Dallas Mavericks are looking to move point guard Dennis Smith, and the Chicago Bulls rumors are swirling.

The Chicago Bulls rumors are beginning to pick up as the NBA’s February 7th trade deadline of approaches. One interesting name that could be on their radar is Dallas Mavericks point guard Dennis Smith.

He was the No. 9 overall pick just two years ago in the 2017 NBA Draft and immediately burst on the scene. In his debut, he scored 16 points and dished out 10 assists against the Atlanta Hawks. Two months later, he became one of the youngest players in NBA history to notch a triple-double with 21 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists in a win against the New Orleans Pelicans.

For his rookie season, he averaged 15 points and 5 rebounds per game and was selected to the All-Rookie Second Team.

However, his strong rookie performance did not deter the Mavericks from selecting 19-year-old phenom Luka Doncic in last year’s draft. Doncic has been lighting up the league in his rookie season as well and is one of the main reasons that Smith has become expendable.

As the Mavs make a serious push to move Smith, the Bulls could offer an interesting landing spot for the former N.C. State standout.

One potential move would be for the Bulls to swap point guards straight up. But would Chicago really send Kris Dunn packing already in exchange for Smith? Granted there have been rumors about the Bulls not being completely sold on Dunn, but he offers the one thing new coach Jim Boylen covets — defense.

And it’s important to note that most of those rumors came prior to the start of the season. More recently, it appears Boylen is completely sold on Dunn as the future point guard of this team.

Smith, on the other hand, decidedly does not. In fact, it is one of the weakest aspects of his game. So while he would certainly provide more offensive punch at this point in his career, he would significantly weaken the team on the defensive end. The Bulls don’t need that.

Second, both seem to be relative unknowns at the moment. Both were top-ten picks but have yet to fully realize their potential. Essentially, the Bulls would be banking on Smith having the higher ceiling than Dunn at this point in their careers. Perhaps they think he does, but it’s not a foregone conclusion.

The Mavs are looking to move Smith very quickly, so things could heat up fast and this particular rumor could be resolved sooner rather than later.