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Rising junior Dennis Smith Jr. confirmed he's been tweaking his shot mechanics with assistant coach Keith Smart. Smith Jr. told The Athletic's Mike Vorkunov that his shot has undergone “major changes” and it's a “really big difference.”
The New York Knicks point guard is a career 31.6% three-point shooter.
New York acquired Smith in the Kristaps Porzingis trade in January of this year. The Knicks sent Porzingis, Tim Hardaway Jr., Courtney Lee, and Trey Burke to the Dallas Mavericks for Smith, center DeAndre Jordan, veteran swingman Wesley Matthews, and two future draft picks in 2021 and 2023, the latter of which is protected.
Smith has never found comfort in his long-range shooting ability. He was drafted with the ninth overall pick in the first round of the 2018 draft by Dallas—one pick after New York selected guard Frank Ntilikina—after a two-year stint at NC State, only one spent playing ball due to a knee injury that required Smith to rehab for a year first. Smith was a solid three-point shooter in his ACC career, shooting 35.9% from deep, but the further three-point arc in the NBA, along with imperfect mechanics, have prevented the 6-foot-3 floor general from reaching his ceiling due to defenders' proclivity to sag off Smith and let him shoot (and miss) from three.
Smith is trying to break Knicks training camp in the fall as the franchise's starting point guard following the offseason free-agent signing of 25-year-old Elfrid Payton, last playing for the New Orleans Pelicans. Smith, 21, will need to refine his shooting motion to secure that starting spot for the rebuilding Knicks.
