Dennis Smith Jr. has shown flashes of greatness during his rookie season with the Dallas Mavericks. The 9th overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft averages 14.3 points, 4.5 assists, and 3.9 rebounds through 36 games played. Smith spoke to Yahoo! Sports about his character, his athleticism, and some not very pleasant experiences with the Knicks organization before the NBA Draft.

Before June, rumors about Smith's character and reputation started surfacing, and he still does not know who could have started those rumors:

“It could’ve been people that were on my side, my staff, putting out bad, negative rumors. It’s things I heard by ear. I hope nobody was doing that, man, but anything could have happened because I kept hearing it… As the Mavs got to know me, they realized I’m a hard worker and everything I do is motivated by just winning.”

He is now happy in Dallas. There was a possibility the Knicks drafted him before the Mavs could, though, as New York had the 8th pick, one prior to Dallas. Still, Smith was almost sure he was not playing for them. The Knicks gave him a call before the Draft. He took dinner with Phil Jackson, who is now gone, and other team members, and scheduled a workout. When Smith arrived to the workout, Jackson requested him a physical exam. This did not sit well with the 20-year old. He refused to take the physical and both sides dismissed the workout. Smith spoke about it:

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“The Knicks were forcing me to do a couple things that were already established that I wasn’t going to do. I was uncomfortable with them. I felt comfortable here in Dallas. They did a good job making me feel like I was already a player here. People think that I just dipped out of the Knicks workout because I didn’t want the Knicks to take me, but no.”

The Knicks reportedly asked Smith for a last-second workout one day before the Draft, but Smith refused. He knew where his heart was already.