One player that appears to have been drowned out by all the craziness that has transpired within the New York Knicks organization over the past year is Dennis Smith Jr.

The former Dallas Mavericks up-and-comer arrived in The Big Apple in the middle of last season as part of the Kristaps Porzingis deal. He played just 21 games for the Knicks following the huge trade, averaging 14.7 points, 2.8 rebounds, 5.4 assists, and 1.3 steals in 28.6 minutes per contest.

Entering the new season, most people are still heavily fixated on how the Knicks failed so miserably this summer in free agency, that they tend to overlook the potential of Smith in what is going to be his first full season as a Knick. This is exactly what former Most Improved Player of the Year winner and current NBA analyst Jalen Rose believes, stating that in his mind, Smith is one of the most underrated players in the game today.

“Dennis Smith doesn’t have the 7-foot-3, 3-point upside of Porzingis, but it’s underestimated how much potential Dennis has,” Rose said, via Marc Berman of the New York Post. “I liked him a lot coming out of the draft, followed him in Dallas. One of the things Fiz (David Fizdale) did that went under the radar, he helped him become more of a playmaker.”

We see no lies here, and we definitely expect big things from Smith this coming campaign. Moreover, the fact that he appears to be operating under the radar might just work in his favor. The Knicks are expected to have a terrible year again this coming season, and without much pressure and expectations, Smith just might be in store for a surprise breakout year.