He may have been selected ninth overall in this year’s draft, but it's not a guarantee that Dennis Smith Jr. will be the undisputed starter for the Dallas Mavericks.

With the team having an influx of point guards in their lineup, the former NC State standout will need to prove his worth with the team and compete for the starting spot. It has been reported, via Mavs.com's Earl K. Sneed, that it’s what team president Donnie Nelson wants him to do. However, he also added that he is certain that Smith will give it his all as he is very competitive, and is a proven winner.

“Those keys are earned. You know, it's going to be an interesting training camp.” Nelson said. “I think Dennis is going to play for one of the best coaches in the NBA. That being said, I think internally you can't help but be excited by the potential, but he wouldn't want it any other way.

“Just knowing the character of Dennis and knowing his family and surrounding structure, he's going to want to earn those minutes. He's truly a winner in every sense of the word.”

Smith was very impressive during the recently-concluded Summer League, where he was able to successfully showcase his skill set. From vicious slams to outside shooting, the 19-year-old turned a lot of heads with how he made it look easy, and proved that he is indeed NBA-ready despite still being very young. He averaged solid numbers of 17.3 points, 4.8 rebounds, 4.2 assists, and 2.2 steals, which resulted to him being named part of the All-NBA Summer League First Team.

The Mavericks still have J.J. Barea, Yogi Ferrell, Seth Curry and Devin Harris in their lineup, who are all expected to compete for the point guard minutes as well. However, instead of seeing them as competition, Smith can definitely learn a lot from them, which could set him up for a lot of success in the future. There is no doubt he has the skills to be a star in the league someday but for now, he will have to work hard and learn the ropes in the NBA.