Dennis Smith Jr. praises Knicks coach (while swearing he's not 'throwing shade' at Mavs coach Carlisle)

DALLAS - Our old pal Dennis Smith Jr. insists he's not throwing any shade at the Dallas Mavericks when he heaps praise on David Fizdale and the New York Knicks.

“You interact with all the coaches, and it’s not shade to any other coach, but I think Fizdale is probably the best guy in the whole business as far as being a real, genuine dude,” DSJ told Ian Begley of SNY TV.

I'm glad Junior was thoughtful enough to make the "no shade'' reference because ... well, how many other NBA coaches has he really, truly "interacted with'' beyond his former boss in Dallas, Rick Carlisle.

Here at DallasBasketball.com, we reported in detail on the breakdown of that relationship that led to Junior being traded to the Knicks as part of the deal that landed Kristaps Porzingis. Smith's relationship with the Mavs continues on in a different form now, as you can hear in our exclusive visit with him on the Step Back podcast.

Then @Dennis1SmithJr stopped by a few weeks later to talk with us about a variety of Mavs/Knicks topics, including how he’s still friends with his former teammates and really looking forward to his first game vs. the Mavs since the trade. https://t.co/aZstlc41C3 pic.twitter.com/TMAraU8ZeH
— Dalton Trigg (@dalton_trigg) September 10, 2019

As Dennis told us: “I’m still good friends with everybody on that team, like I just did (Dorian Finney-Smith’s) camp, Luka calls me every other week, I just did the baseball game with (Devin Harris) and Dirk, you know all the older guys, I’m still friends with everybody on that team.

"But, you know I love to compete, so any chance I get to bust that ass, you know I’m good for it.”

And sure, one of those butts belongs to Rick.

We still with the two of them could've meshed better, and we (I don't think naively) think the Smith/Carlisle relationship right now is fine. But Dennis is no dummy; it didn't quite work here, and part of the fault was his. There is wisdom in the former first-round pick fully embracing Fizdale and the Knicks.

“If you ever speak to him he’ll speak to you like he’s talking to one of the other coaches,'' Smith said. "He’s just that real. Me and him, we talk a lot and he tells me about the things I need to do, what he needs from me. And I try to meet every expectation he sets for me, if not exceed it. So we’ve got a really good relationship right now.”

I've always believed Smith had "star power,'' and if the Knicks and their coach are bringing that out in the 21-year-old, I'm glad. ... as long as Dallas does even better in developing Porzingis.

No shade intended toward anybody.