The Dallas Mavericks are really working toward trading point guard Dennis Smith Jr., something that most people did not think was coming a year ago. However, with the emergence of rookie Luka Doncic as the Mavericks' primary ball-handler, Smith has become expendable.
Here is the deal with Smith: he is very athletic and is definitely fun to watch, but knee issues have to give one pause as to how long of a career Smith will actually have.
The 21-year-old tore his ACL back in high school and has been dealing with on-and-off knee problems ever since, and it's not like Smith is so great in other aspects of his game that he will be able to adjust easily should his athleticism decline.
All of these things are reasons why Dallas is looking to move him, and it's also why his value is not going to be all that high.
For example, the Phoenix Suns are in dire need of a point guard, but according to John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 Phoenix, the Suns have absolutely no interest in Smith in spite of reports that the team was in talks with the Mavs.
Phoenix needs a floor general more than anyone, so the fact that the Suns are not at all intrigued by the possibility of adding Smith just tells you where his value is at the current point in time.
Keep in mind that while Smith can be exciting to watch offensively, he is a poor defensive player, and with knee issues, it's hard to imagine that Smith is going to get much better on that end of the floor.
That could be a bit of a deal-breaker for some teams, especially considering that Smith is far from an elite shooter. As a matter of fact, thus far in his two-year NBA career, Smith owns a career true shooting percentage of 48.7 percent, which is just awful.
For a guy who isn't much of a defender, that is simply not acceptable.
This isn't to say that Smith is not going to generate any interest on the trade market whatsoever.
While the Suns may not want him, teams like the Orlando Magic and New Orleans Pelicans may certainly take a look, as both squads are also in need of a point guard.
But what can the Mavericks get in return?
Well, you can forget about any lottery picks, because that is not going to happen. Even a late first-rounder might be out of the question at this point. Right now, Dallas is looking at a minimal haul that will likely include something like a second-round draft pick and a young piece that a team doesn't see much use for.
The good news for the Mavericks is that Smith has one year left on his deal and a club option for 2021, so it's not like trade partners are going to be worried about Smith being a potential rental, which would limit his value even further.
He also has a minimal salary at $3.8 million this year, so he will be relatively easy to match provided that another team has an auxiliary young piece they can send Dallas in return.
So, finding a squad willing to take a chance on Smith shouldn't be that much of a challenge, but finding one that is actually willing to give the Mavericks a package they will really like will be an issue.
That may seem hard to fathom, given the fact that Smith is just 21 years old and drew praise from LeBron James last year, saying the New York Knicks should have drafted Smith over Frank Ntilikina instead, but at least Ntilikina is a good defender.
Smith's stock has dropped considerably, and it's honestly hard to imagine him ever becoming anything more than a decent role player at this point.
On the year, Smith is averaging 12.6 points, 3.9 assists, 2.6 rebounds and 1.4 steals over 27.7 minutes per game. Those are hardly bad numbers. However, you then see that he has a minus-10 net rating, which is not far off from the minus-9.4 net rating he posted last season.
You don't think rival teams are looking at those numbers and cringing? Okay; so maybe this year is a relatively small sample size so far, but what about the entire 2017-18 campaign when he posted similarly poor numbers?
While net rating is a statistic that does require some context, having a minus-10 net rating is just bad no matter how you look at it. It just shows that your team is much better off without you on the floor.
Could Smith improve in the future? Of course. He's still a kid, after all, and he can absolutely get better. But, right now, he is what he is, and his value is fairly low as a result.
The Mavericks are looking at potentially receiving an early second-round draft choice from someone. If a contending team really, really wants to add another piece, maybe they can swing a late first. But even that is pretty unlikely.
Let's just hope Smith can get on the right track wherever he lands.
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