Brooklyn Nets Reportedly Interested in Dennis Smith Jr. For G League Team

The Long Island Nets will have the opportunity to sign the former Brooklyn Nets guard.

Mar 10, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Brooklyn Nets guard Dennis Smith Jr. (4) celebrates his three-point basket in the fourth quarter against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-Imagn Images / David Richard-Imagn Images

NBA veteran free agent guard Dennis Smith Jr. signed into the G League ahead of the NBA G League Winter Showcase starting on Thursday, and he could soon be back with the Nets organization. 

The Long Island Nets, Brooklyn’s G League affiliate, “are at the top of the waiver order” alongside the Mexico City Capitanes to sign Smith, per Marc Stein. The 27-year-old went unsigned all summer after spending last season in Brooklyn. He played in 56 games and averaged 6.6 points, 3.6 assists and 1.2 steals in 18.9 minutes.

Brooklyn is currently short on point guard options with Ben Simmons and recently acquired two-way signing Reece Beekman being the only natural fits in the position. Killian Hayes, Amari Bailey and Mark Armstrong are the point guards on Long Island's roster.

Smith, a consensus five-star prospect in high school, was the ninth overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft after a single season at North Carolina State. His first two seasons as a pro with the Dallas Mavericks remain the most productive of his career, featuring a couple of double-doubles. Halfway through his second season with the Mavs, Smith was traded to the New York Knicks.

His first partial season in New York went well, but playing time and opportunities proved to be far more scarce going forward. Other guards surpassed him in the Knicks’ rotation, and some additional injury issues didn’t help. As early as 2021, Smith was looking at the G League to play more, although that never ended up happening.

Moves to Detroit and Portland followed, but Smith didn’t stick. He contemplated switching sports and trying to make the NFL until signing with the Charlotte Hornets. It was with his hometown team where Smith’s reputation gradually switched from a human highlight reel dunker to a defensive pitbull who was genuinely one of the best positional defenders in the NBA. The Hornets’ defense was 10.7 points better per 100 possessions when he played. 

The G League Winter Showcase will go from Dec. 19-22 in Orlando, Florida. Long Island will face the San Diego Clippers and the Rip City Remix on the 20th and 22nd, respectively. The showcase's timing is so that NBA decision-makers can evaluate free agents before Jan. 5, the date on which 10-day contracts can start being signed. 

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