Former NBA point guard Dennis Smith Jr. recently revealed the Dallas Mavericks’ threat of a trade. He will be turning 27 on Monday, November 25, known as Thanksgiving in the United States. Smith Jr.’s recent revelation sparked a conversation in the basketball world. The Mavericks selected him with the ninth overall pick in the first round of the 2018 NBA Draft out of North Carolina State University (NC State).
However, Smith Jr.’s tenure in Dallas, Texas, lasted just two years from 2017 to 2019. He proceeded to play for the New York Knicks from 2019 to 2021, the Detroit Pistons in 2021, the Portland Trail Blazers from 2021 to 2022, the Charlotte Hornets from 2022 to 2023, and the Brooklyn Nets in 2023. His professional basketball career can be described as a “journeyman’s journey,” but his recent revelation on the “Run Your Race” podcast made some if not most, fans wonder “What if?” Read on for further details surrounding Smith Jr.’s revelation.
Dennis Smith Jr.’s Revelation
Smith Jr. recently appeared on the “Run Your Race” podcast hosted by former NBA guard Theo Pinson and his friend AJ Richardson. Pinson, 29, played for the Brooklyn Nets, Long Island Nets, New York Knicks, Maine Celtics, Dallas Mavericks, and Texas Legends. The 29-year-old went undrafted at the 2018 NBA Draft following a four-year college basketball career at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (North Carolina).
Smith Jr. told Pinson and Richardson on the “Run Your Race” podcast, “They threatened to trade me. Like, I got threatened, ‘Yeah, we haven’t mentioned about trading you yet.’ I was like, ‘Where’s that coming from?’ That was in the summer league … Dallas was like, ‘Naw, you need to sit down and have a meeting postgame.’ I’m like, ‘Damn, I can’t make it bro. You know?'”
Smith Jr. said “That was a crazy transition from almost every position he could be in in the NBA. The Dallas Mavericks still had small forward Harrison Barnes, currently playing for the San Antonio Spurs, so he had the ball in his hands. However, in 2019, he became a secondary player and got traded in his second year, so he didn’t play a full season with fellow point guard Luka Doncic.
Smith Jr.’s Thoughts on Luka Doncic
Smith Jr.’s thoughts surrounding Luka Doncic were interesting. The Dallas Mavericks had planned to make Smith Jr. a franchise player after he averaged 15.2 points and 5.2 assists per game in his first season and finished fifth place in the NBA Rookie of the Year voting. Smith Jr.’s lone accolade in Dallas, Texas, was making the NBA All-Rookie Second Team in 2018.
Smith Jr.’s accolade was a great achievement to be proud of, but Smith ultimately didn’t become the Mavericks’ franchise player. The Mavericks brought in Luka Doncic through a trade with the Atlanta Hawks on the night of the 2018 NBA Draft.
The team had the most undrafted players in NBA history, so the team’s direction reportedly confused Smith, who got traded to the New York Knicks alongside center DeAndre Jordan, shooting guard Wesley Matthews, and two first-round draft picks in exchange for power forward Kristaps Porzingis, small forward Tim Hardaway Jr., guard Courtney Lee, and point guard Trey Burke.
Smith Jr. knew Doncic had plenty of potential entering the NBA, but even surpassed his expectations. Smith said on the “Run Your Race” podcast, “He’s near the best player in the world […] He’s up there. I ain’t know he was going to be this cold.”
About Dennis Smith Jr.
The Dallas Mavericks could’ve handled the point guard-turned-franchise player situation differently. However, it’s difficult to argue with the Mavericks’ decision to choose Luka Doncic over Dennis Smith Jr. Most recently, Doncic led the Mavericks to their first NBA Finals in 13 years and has been competing for NBA MVP awards since 2018. Doncic’s accolades have lifted the team to new heights. Smith Jr. could, but it’s unclear if he could maintain the momentum, as he fizzled out after a hot start as a high-flying and defensive-minded guard.
Smith Jr., a Fayetteville, North Carolina, native, is reportedly friends with rapper and Fayetteville native, J. Cole. J. Cole, 39, was born to an African American father, a United States Army veteran, and a White American mother, a former United States Postal Service employee, at the American military base in Frankfurt, West Germany, and raised in Fayetteville.
Smith Jr., was raised by his father and his aunt. He welcomed a son in 2022. His professional basketball career didn’t end exactly how he wanted but has achieved success off the court with his podcast appearances and his then-three-year endorsement deal with Under Armour, an American sportswear company manufacturing footwear and apparel, signed on June 21, 2017.
