EXCLUSIVE: Ex Mavs Guard Dennis Smith Jr.'s Pitch for Dallas Reunion

The Dallas Mavericks are reportedly losing Jalen Brunson to the New York Knicks, and former point guard Dennis Smith Jr. would love nothing more than to have one more opportunity with Luka Doncic and the rest of the crew.

This offseason has taken a turn for the Dallas Mavericks, as Jalen Brunson, who was the team's top priority this summer, has reportedly decided to join the New York Knicks when free agency opens on Thursday at 5:00 p.m. central time. Dallas will now have to pivot to other options to fill the void that will be left behind by Brunson's departure.

There are rumors stating the Mavs will focus more on adding another serviceable wing player instead of trying to replace exactly what Brunson brought to the table, but secondary ball-handling is something that will need to be addressed in one form or another at some point.

Goran Dragic, who is essentially Luka Doncic's Slovenian big brother and has been linked to Dallas numerous times over the last few years, has already been mentioned as a serious option in free agency with the Brunson news dropping.

If for whatever reason that doesn't work out, though, or if the Mavs want some extra bench guard insurance on top of potentially signing Dragic, one secondary playmaker option who would love an opportunity with the Mavs is former point guard Dennis Smith Jr.

"They need [more] athleticism, someone who can get to the rim and play in transition," Smith tells DallasBasketball.com. "It's no question about what I'll bring on the defensive side."

Smith has struggled to get his career rolling again after being traded from the Mavs in the Kristaps Porzingis deal in 2019, mainly due to some unfortunate injuries. However, he showed some nice flashes last season after earning a contract from the Portland Trail Blazers.

Smith only averaged 5.6 points and 3.6 assists in 37 games played for Portland, but in four games as a starter when Damian Lillard went down with an abdominal injury, Smith averaged 15.8 points, 4.5 rebounds and 6.5 assists while shooting 54.3 percent from the field. Those performances came against the Golden State Warriors, Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Clippers and Denver Nuggets.

Not only did Smith's best seasons happen while he was in Dallas for the first two years of his career, but he made friendships with Doncic and Dorian Finney-Smith that remain strong to this day.

Things have to fall just right for Smith to get a second chance in Dallas, but that's a goal he'll keep striving for regardless. At the very least, perhaps Smith can get a training camp invite this time around like he did with Portland last year. That way, he'll have an opportunity to show what he still has in the tank.

"I'm with it," says Smith about the prospect of a Dallas reunion. "You know that."


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Dalton Trigg
DALTON TRIGG

Dalton Trigg is the Editor-In-Chief for Dallas Basketball, as well as the Executive Editor overseeing Inside The Rockets, Inside The Spurs, All Knicks, and The Magic Insider. He is the founder and host for the Mavs Step Back Podcast, which is a proud part of the Blue Wire podcast network. Trigg graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi’s College of Business and Economic Development with a bachelor’s degree in entrepreneurship in 2016. After spending a few years with multiple Dallas Mavericks-related blogs, including SB Nation’s Mavs Moneyball, Trigg joined DallasBasketball.com as a staff writer in 2018 and never looked back. At the start of 2022, he was promoted to the EIC title he holds now. Through the years, Trigg has conducted a handful of high-profile one-on-one interviews to add to his resume — in both writing and podcasting. Some of his biggest interviews have been with Mavs owner Mark Cuban, Mavs GM Nico Harrison, now-retired legend Dirk Nowitzki and many other current/former players and team staffers. Many of those interviews and other articles by Trigg have been aggregated by other well-known sports media websites, such as Yahoo Sports, CBS Sports, Bleacher Report and others. You can find Trigg on all major social media channels, but his most prevalent platform is on Twitter. Whether it’s posting links to his DBcom work, live-tweeting Mavs games or merely giving his opinions on things going on with Dallas and the rest of the NBA, the daily content never stops rolling. For any inquiries, please email Dalton@MavsStepBack.com.