Dennis Smith Jr. may have been in the doghouse during his final days with the Dallas Mavericks, but that doesn't mean he will be neglected as a member of the New York Knicks.

Knicks head coach David Fizdale wants his new guard to be very involved in the offense moving forward:

“I want to put the ball in his hands a lot and get him out in the open court and get him a lot of space,” said Fizdale, according to Ian Begley of ESPN.com. “Give him some freedom to make some mistakes … The kid’s a talent and hopefully we can bring it out consistently.”

New York passed up on Smith in the 2017 NBA Draft, opting to take Frank Ntilikina instead. Smith then went to the Mavericks one pick later.

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Needless to say, neither player has worked out thus far, with Dallas souring on Smith halfway into his second season and Ntilikina still not having a defined role on the Knicks.

Smith has played in 32 games this season, averaging 12.9 points, 4.3 assists, three rebounds and 1.3 steals over 28.4 minutes per game while shooting 44 percent from the floor, 34.4 percent from three-point range and 69.5 percent from the free-throw line.

Last year, the 21-year-old appeared in 69 contests, registering 15.2 points, 5.2 assists, 3.8 boards and one steal across 29.7 minutes a night while making 39.5 percent of his field-goal attempts, 31.3 percent of his long-distance tries and 69.4 percent of his foul shots.

Known for his superb athleticism, knee problems and various other injury issues have given Smith problems over his first couple of years in the league, which likely led to the Mavs decision to part ways with the youngster.