According to ESPN, the Chicago Bulls' current projected depth chart has Jalen Smith as the starting center. Besides him, they can count on Zach Collins, Nick Richards, Guerschon Yabusele, and Lachlan Olbrich.
Clearly, the Bulls need to give whoever takes the reins of the team more at the five. They lost their glass-cleaning big man when they let Nikola Vucevic go, and they could use some sort of interior presence and someone to dominate the boards.
That's why some fans continue to talk themselves into making a run at Jalen Duren. However, after watching him lay egg after egg in the playoffs, there's simply no way Bryson Graham and the Bulls should even consider it.
The Bulls can't afford to overpay for Jalen Duren
With a third-team All-NBA selection now under his belt, Jalen Duren is eligible for a five-year deal worth a whopping $287.1 million. The Detroit Pistons will likely let him test the market as a free agent, though it's highly unlikely they'll match such a massive offer if someone is crazy and desperate enough to make it.
Duren looked like a star in the making in the regular season, earning an All-Star selection and averaging 19.5 points and 10.5 rebounds per game on 65 percent from the floor. Then, he seemed to lose millions every single time he got on the floor in the postseason.
His averages went down to 10.2 points and 8.5 rebounds on 51.4 percent from the floor in the playoffs, and while that's not necessarily bad for a starting center, that's not worth nearly $57.5 million a season.
The Bulls have more than enough cap space to accommodate Duren's salary in their books if they choose to do so, but how would that even look a couple of years from now? Matas Buzelis and Noa Essengue might both earn big contracts, and the Bulls will also have two top-15 picks this year, including the No. 4 pick, which they might use on a big, like Caleb Wilson or Cameron Boozer.
Duren might be a good player, and perhaps he'll shake off his playoff woes with more experience. It's not like he can't play or that he wouldn't be helpful in the Windy City. Nevertheless, we've seen playoff droppers cost their teams when it matters the most time and time again, and that's simply not the type of energy or character you want on a winning team.
The Bulls finally have a clean slate to rebuild a winning culture from the ground up. They shouldn't be in a rush to sign All-Stars because they're still not even close to contention. As such, they should steer right clear of Jalen Duren and let someone else overpay for his empty numbers. If he turns out to be a star, so be it; he's simply not worth the risk.
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