Dennis Smith's career trajectory has quite the downward slope to it, and we're left wondering if it's ever going to rebound.
After a fast start to his NBA career, in which he enjoyed a solid rookie 2017-18 season with the Dallas Mavericks (15.2 points, 5.2 assists, 3.8 rebounds per game), Smith's production started to decrease. The Mavs' ninth overall pick in 2017 saw his PER drop from 12.8 to 11.5, his usage decrease from 28.9% to 23.3% and his turnover percentage increase from 14.9% to 20.3%. And after 32 games, the Mavericks felt as though they'd seen enough — or felt as though Kristaps Porzingis was worth whatever assets it required to get him — and traded Smith to the Knicks.
While he had his moments in blue and orange in that 21-game stint after the trade in 2019, it's safe to say that most Knicks fans look upon his time in New York quite negatively. That's because in the 2019-20 season, Smith didn't do much good at all. He started in three games. He only averaged around 16 minutes per contest. He saw his once-high trade value — evidently it was once-high, seeing as he was a main draw in the Knicks-Mavs exchange in addition to draft capital — depreciate greatly. Take a look at the per-game statistical differences from his first two seasons in comparison to his most recent campaign for a full scope of just how little he's done.
2017-2019 (2 seasons): 29.2 minutes, 14.5 points, 5.0 assists, 3.4 rebounds, 1.1 steals, 2.9 turnovers, 40.7 FG%, 31.6 3P%, 66.8 FT%, 12.6 PER
2019-2020 (1 season): 15.8 minutes, 5.5 points, 2.9 assists, 2.3 rebounds, 1.7 turnovers, 34.1 FG%, 29.6 3P%, 50.9 FT%, 7.4 PER
But is he salvageable? Is this recently successful NBA talent, who was a top-10 pick above guys like Donovan Mitchell, Bam Adebayo and John Collins, ever going to live up to his potential? Could he at least show signs of the player he once was so that the Knicks can trade him?
If the 2020-21 preseason is any indication, the answer is leaning toward no. In the first two contests against the Pistons, Smith's play has been littered with inaccurate shooting and poor decision-making, and a pair of scouts who watched it all unfold told the New York Post's Marc Berman just how off he looked.
"Dennis Smith does not see the floor," the first scout said. "He's probably not a true point guard."
The other was even harsher, saying that the fourth-year pro "just looks awful as a player and teammate" and that "he has zero feel." And in a crowded backcourt, with guys like Elfrid Payton, Frank Ntilikina, Austin Rivers and Immanuel Quickley all looking for minutes alongside Smith, you have to wonder if the polarizing point guard is going to find the time to get his mojo back. Of course, playing for a team with low postseason expectations, at least for this season, may benefit him in that sense.
It hasn't all been bad for Smith, though. A particular bright spot came as a result of his stingy defense in the second game against Detroit, though again, it was his offense that seemed to be holding the team back more than anything.
In any event, it's tough to imagine too many teams offering anything too enticing for a guy who "just looks awful" and has "zero feel," and at this point it just seems unlikely that the 2020-21 season will be a memorable one for DSJ.
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