Knicks Could Sign Familiar Face

The New York Knicks may be intrigued to give a former player a shot.

Jan 23, 2024; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Brooklyn Nets guard Dennis Smith Jr. (4) controls the ball against the New York Knicks during the fourth quarter at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images / Brad Penner-Imagn Images

The New York Knicks were home to point guard Dennis Smith Jr. from 2019-21, and history could have a sense of repeating itself.

Smith Jr. is still a free agent, but he could make sense for the Knicks if they were interested in adding another point guard to the mix.

"Teams with pristine spacing in the half-court can likewise leverage his downhill juice into playmaking for others. He tossed an assist last season on a somewhat staggering 15.6 percent of his drives, a top-six mark among 143 players who finished at least 300 such possessions," Bleacher Report contributor Dan Favale writes. "Pair this with his defensive activity at the point of attack, and you've got a nifty drive-and-disrupt reserve on your hands. To that end, Jose Alvarado is the only other player over the past three seasons to maintain a steal rate of at least three and an assist percentage of 20 or higher."

The Knicks are pretty jam-packed at the point guard spot with Tyler Kolek, Miles McBride and Cam Payne backing up Jalen Brunson at the position. That being said, Smith could benefit as another body who can defend and create.

Smith is a former No. 9 overall pick who could never truly find his footing in the NBA. He was drafted to the Dallas Mavericks the year after Luka Doncic joined the team, and he eventually emerged into the team's starting point guard. That's why the Mavs traded him to the Knicks, where he began his journeyman career.

Smith has played for the Detroit Pistons, Portland Trail Blazers, Charlotte Hornets and Brooklyn Nets since leaving the Knicks three years ago, and now he's searching for yet another home.

But sometimes, old things become new again, and that could be the case with Smith and the Knicks.

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