DALLAS (105.3 The Fan) - According to ESPN's Tim MacMahon, Dennis Smith Jr. is not at practice Friday and won't travel with the team on their upcoming road trip.
Dennis Smith Jr. did not report to the facility for practice this morning, per a source. Not unexpected. Mavs are willing to be patient in an effort to fix the situation, at least temporarily. https://t.co/IEVlLLN1KB
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) January 18, 2019
105.3 The Fan's Mike Fisher reported Friday morning that Dallas was prepared to announce at practice that Smith Jr. wouldn't rejoin the team for the trip and everything "will be OK." Fish isn't buying it, however, calling it "nonsense from all involved."
Bump. Between Dennis and me, I expect one of us will be at #Mavs practice today. https://t.co/d4Xzy6b1MD
— mike fisher ✭ (@fishsports) January 18, 2019The Athletic's Shams Charania reported late Thursday that Smith and top team officials have been in contact in the past several days and have had positive communication. He also is reporting that Smith hasn't requested a trade.
Sources: Dallas' Dennis Smith Jr. and top team officials have talked in past several days and had positive communication. Mavericks maintain Smith has been positive teammate and competitor. Smith hasn't made trade request.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) January 18, 2019Charnia's report that "top team officials" have spoken to Smith is an ecouraging sign, but what if that means only Mark Cuban and Donnie Nelson? That's great, but it still doesn't solve the real problem as Fish has reported the past several days.
According to Fish, head coach Rick Carlisle is at the center of the issue and needs to mend the fences with the point guard. And until that happens, Smith will have a sore back, and a stomach bug, and whatever other excuse you can come up with instead of showing up to work.
