Revenge wasn’t on Jalen Smith‘s mind when he faced the Pacers Friday night for the first time since leaving them over the summer to sign with the Bulls, writes Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star.
Given the financial realities of the situation, Smith and Indiana’s front office both seemed to understand going into last season that their relationship was about to end, Dopirak adds. Holding a $5.4MM player option, Smith felt it was in his best interest to seek a bigger contract in free agency, and the three-year, $27MM deal he got from Chicago was nearly double what the Pacers were paying him. With no hard feelings on either side, Smith welcomed Friday’s game as a chance to catch up with some old friends.
“Obviously, I wanted to be back in Indiana, but at the end of the day, it was the business part of the game,” he said. “All of them wished me luck. They all said they would be there to help me whenever I needed it. At the end of the day, I didn’t leave on bad terms. Obviously, being able to finally get my career going there, it was tough to leave, but at the end of the day it was just the business part of the game.”
Smith has been a solid addition in Chicago, averaging 8.0 points and 5.1 rebounds in 14.8 minutes per night as the team’s primary backup center. His loss has been significant for Indiana, which doesn’t have a reliable big man off the bench since Isaiah Jackson and James Wiseman both suffered season-ending injuries.
“Loved him,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said of Smith. “He’s one of the most wonderful young men I’ve ever been around. Always in a great mood, high level of skill. He’s a great rebounder and he can really shoot the ball and he can block shots. He knows how to play. He’s a great teammate. I was really disappointed that we lost him, but I could really see that it was gonna happen. He’s just too good.”
There’s more from Chicago:
- Zach LaVine isn’t dominating the offense the way he has in the past, but he’s still scoring a lot because of improved efficiency, notes Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. LaVine has only taken 20 shots five times this season, but he’s connecting at 50.6% from the field, a career-high 43.2% from beyond the arc and 80% on free throws. ‘‘There might be a game where I may need to go out there and try and lead the team offensively, but this year has been more about spurts,’’ he said. ‘‘I don’t think that’s the style of play that we’re playing right now.’’
- Center Nikola Vucevic is also benefiting from coach Billy Donovan’s up-tempo offense, per Julia Poe of The Chicago Tribune. Vucevic is averaging 21 PPG, which would be his highest total for a full season since he came to Chicago in a 2021 trade, and he’s shooting 58.7% from the floor, the best figure of his career. “I don’t think people understand how hard he works,” LaVine said. “We all made sacrifices — me, DeMar (DeRozan), Vooch — we all came together and we all took a little bit less of our game and tried to do better for the team. But I think Vooch took the biggest back seat for years.”
- Patrick Williams plans to return Friday after missing 10 games with inflammation in his left foot, according to Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic. Williams will likely be on a minutes restriction at first, but Mayberry notes that the team will eventually face a decision on how much his availability cuts into the playing time of rookie forward Matas Buzelis.