Dennis Smith Jr.'s NBA career has been quite the roller coaster ride. DSJ played a few good seasons with the Dallas Mavericks, after being picked ninth overall in the 2017 NBA Draft. The young guard from North Carolina showed some potential playing the point and showing his incredible athletic ability. Early in 2019, Smith was shipped to the New York Knicks in a 7-player trade where his stock would eventually plummet, battling minutes with other guards like Frank Ntilikina, Elfrid Payton, and 2019 lottery pick RJ Barrett.
NBA veteran Derek Harper, now a TV Analyst for the Dallas Mavericks, voiced out an interesting input about the young guard. Harper told the New York Post that Smith still has a lot to learn to reach his full potential.
“He’s a kid I root for because I like the kid,” Harper said. “You got to get better in the NBA. He always tried to get better during the offseason. He improved his passing, improved his ability to rebound. When you’re young and don’t improve and stay the same, it really puts you in a bad way.”
Harper, having played point guard for both the Mavs and the Knicks in his time in the NBA, has seen promise in DSJ's young career. Although he states that Smith has to continuously work on his game to make a name for himself in the league. He cites one particular facet of the game the 22-year-old needs to work on.
“The hardest position is point guard. If you don’t get better at running the team, understanding the position, understanding sometimes you got to go slower, as opposed to always being at one speed, you’re going to have a hard time. You got to know when to go, when to slow. I think if DSJ learns that, he could be a pretty good pro because he has the talent. Sometimes a guy needs a different scenery, different opportunity.”
With a guard-heavy roster and a hard-to-please fanbase, it'll be interesting to see if DSJ will be given a second chance to redeem himself with the Knicks when the NBA season resumes.
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