Dallas Basketball

If Nets’ Dennis Smith Jr. Hits Buyout Market, Mavs Should Sign Him

Should Brooklyn Nets point guard Dennis Smith Jr. find himself on the buyout market soon, reuniting with the Dallas Mavericks might be the best move for both sides.
Dalton Trigg|
If Nets’ Dennis Smith Jr. Hits Buyout Market, Mavs Should Sign Him
If Nets’ Dennis Smith Jr. Hits Buyout Market, Mavs Should Sign Him

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Dallas MavericksBrooklyn Nets

The Dallas Mavericks already tried to sign one former Brooklyn Nets point guard on the buyout market this season, as Spencer Dinwiddie ultimately chose to sign with LeBron James’ Los Angeles Lakers instead. But what if Dallas gets a chance to sign another Nets point guard with previous Mavs connections?

Given that the Nets are still in a rebuilding process, and that seventh-year guard Dennis Smith Jr. is on an expiring $2 million contract, it would make some sense if he ended up asking for a buyout in order to go join a playoff contender. The deadline for players to be bought out and still be playoff eligible when signing with another team is March 1.

There are no rumors suggesting that the Nets will move on from Smith at this time, but his interaction with interim head coach Kevin Ollie on Monday night sparked speculation.

Despite how his first stint with the Mavs ended, Smith still has good relationships within the organization, including superstar Luka Doncic. He’s also friends with newly-acquired forward P.J. Washington, as they played together with the Charlotte Hornets.

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Smith’s interest in a potential reunion with the Mavs has been well documented by DallasBasketball.com, and a reunion now would probably make more sense than it would have in previous years. The Mavs currently have an open roster spot and could used a defensive-minded ballhandler off the bench, especially with Dante Exum’s lingering injury status.

In 41 games this season, Smith is averaging 6.8 points, 3.3 rebounds and 3.9 assists while being one of Brooklyn’s best perimeter defenders. If the Mavs were interested in signing Dinwiddie, they should also be interested in signing Smith should he hit the open market in the coming days. Whether it’s Smith or someone else, the Mavs only have four days to add a player with their final roster spot if they want another potential playoff weapon.

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Dalton Trigg
DALTON TRIGG

Dalton Trigg is the Editor-In-Chief for Dallas Basketball, as well as the Executive Editor overseeing Inside The Rockets, Inside The Spurs, All Knicks, and The Magic Insider. He is the founder and host for the Mavs Step Back Podcast, which is a proud part of the Blue Wire podcast network. Trigg graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi’s College of Business and Economic Development with a bachelor’s degree in entrepreneurship in 2016. After spending a few years with multiple Dallas Mavericks-related blogs, including SB Nation’s Mavs Moneyball, Trigg joined DallasBasketball.com as a staff writer in 2018 and never looked back. At the start of 2022, he was promoted to the EIC title he holds now. Through the years, Trigg has conducted a handful of high-profile one-on-one interviews to add to his resume — in both writing and podcasting. Some of his biggest interviews have been with Mavs owner Mark Cuban, Mavs GM Nico Harrison, now-retired legend Dirk Nowitzki and many other current/former players and team staffers. Many of those interviews and other articles by Trigg have been aggregated by other well-known sports media websites, such as Yahoo Sports, CBS Sports, Bleacher Report and others. You can find Trigg on all major social media channels, but his most prevalent platform is on Twitter. Whether it’s posting links to his DBcom work, live-tweeting Mavs games or merely giving his opinions on things going on with Dallas and the rest of the NBA, the daily content never stops rolling. For any inquiries, please email Dalton@MavsStepBack.com.

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