Full-circle moment in Dallas: Mavericks reunite with former first-round pick

Dallas has 15 players on standard contracts before signing Smith, including Brandon Williams, who is only guaranteed for $200K until opening night.

Smith’s contract is presumably only partially guaranteed, setting up an opportunity for him to earn a spot on the opening-night roster if he performs well enough in training camp. The competition for the 15th spot could come down to either Smith or Williams, but the Mavericks could look to trade someone else to clear a spot if they so choose.

Before the Mavericks waived and stretched Olivier-Maxence Prosper‘s contract to bring back Dante Exum, they reportedly toyed with the idea of moving Jaden Hardy. It’s unclear whether that’s still on the table at all, but if the Mavericks wanted to keep both Smith and Williams, it would mean moving Hardy or another player via trade to clear up a spot.

Dennis Smith Jr.'s history with the Mavericks, beyond

Smith, a 6-foot-2 guard out of NC State, averaged 14.5 points and 4.9 assists in 101 games (all starts) with the Mavericks from 2017-19. He was moved at the 2019 deadline to the Knicks in exchange for Kristaps Porzingis. Since then, he hasn’t played more than 58 games for a franchise, becoming a journeyman guard from 2019-24.

Smith had perhaps his most impressive season of his career in 2022-23, becoming one of the premier guard defenders in the league while playing for the Hornets and averaging 8.8 points and 4.8 assists. However, the Hornets didn’t bring him back and he played the following season for Brooklyn before not playing in the NBA last season.

In all, Smith holds career averages of 9.7 points, 4.2 assists, 3.0 rebounds and 1.2 steals across 326 career games (152 starts).