OKLAHOMA CITY — The Chicago Bulls announced Thursday that center Jalen Smith and guard Jaden Ivey will miss the remainder of the season as the team nears postseason elimination during a four-game trip.
Smith has been dealing with a right calf strain since late January that has forced him to miss a total of 12 games. He never returned for more than three games at a time without aggravating the injury, and he left Wednesday’s 157-137 loss in Philadelphia after playing only six minutes because he tweaked his calf again, leading the Bulls to finally shut him down.
The Bulls never offered a clear explanation for their insistence on playing Smith through the calf injury. They sat guard Coby White — who was traded to the Charlotte Hornets at the deadline — with a similar injury for the first 11 games and 21 of the first 39.
Coach Billy Donovan said the team felt it was both safe and important for Smith to keep attempting to return to the court, although he hinted that Smith might be shut down during the final weeks of the season.
“If these guys are available to play, my guess is the expectation would be that they would play,” Donovan said March 16. “I’m not sitting here saying that if you get down to eight, nine, 10 games (left) and (that) becomes realistic, that could happen. No one’s talked to me about that.”
After losing his backup center job to Zach Collins during the 2024-25 season, Smith proved to be a valuable and versatile option at both the four and five this season, giving the Bulls increased flexibility in two-big lineups alongside Collins or Nikola Vučević.
Smith averaged 10.2 points and 6.7 rebounds this season while improving his 3-point shooting to 37.3% on a career-high 4.2 attempts per game. He will return to the Bulls next season for the final year of his three-year deal.
Ivey’s future with the team is less certain. He played only four games for the Bulls after arriving in a deadline deal that sent Kevin Huerter to the Detroit Pistons, and he will be a restricted free agent this summer.
Ivey was diagnosed with knee soreness stemming from a lack of strength in his left leg, a muscle imbalance that occurred during his recovery from a broken fibula suffered in January 2025. After several weeks of working with the player development and medical staffs, Ivey returned to practice earlier this week only to bang knees with a teammate and suffer a setback. He didn’t travel with the Bulls this week before team doctors opted to shut him down.
The Bulls traded for Ivey because they believed he could return to his former prowess as a scorer and facilitator. But if they don’t feel confident he can regain his explosiveness, they might have a difficult decision to make this summer.
