Welcome Home! Dennis Smith Jr. Agrees to Sign 1-Year Deal with Dallas Mavericks

At long last, a reunion that has been flirted with several times over the last few years is finally coming to fruition.

With training camp less than two weeks away, the Dallas Mavericks have reached a deal with former point guard Dennis Smith Jr. on a one-year deal, Mavs Step Back learned on Thursday afternoon. Smith will wear No. 8 for the Mavs this time around after wearing No. 1 during his first stint.

Given that Dallas now has 16 players signed to standard contracts, one player will need to be waived or traded before the season begins, meaning Smith will be competing with a few other players–like Brandon Williams and Dante Exum–for the final roster spot.

If you’ve followed my Mavs writing and podcasting over the years, you know that I’ve always had a soft spot for Smith since his first stint in Dallas. The Mavs drafted Smith in 2017, which also happened to be the year I really started to get into the media game as a Mavs Moneyball staff writer at the time. Not only was Smith an electrifying player on the court during his first two years with the Mavs (see the clip below), but he was also generally a good person off of it.

One of the highlights of Mavs seasons for me used to be when I’d get to catch up with him in New Orleans when Dallas would face the Pelicans–one of those times being when he notched the first triple-double of his career on Dec. 29, 2017, with 21 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists.

So, have I been a little biased over the last several years as I’ve advocated for a reunion between Smith and the Mavs? Just a tad … but with that being said, there’s also never been a better time for the reunion to happen, given the Mavs’ current lack of ballhandling on the roster. The Mavs signed D’Angelo Russell over the summer to bolster their point-guard depth, but more was still needed, considering that star guard Kyrie Irving will likely miss at least half of the season due to tearing his ACL last season.

After being traded from the Mavs to the New York Knicks for a package involving Kristaps Porzingis back in 2019, Smith also had brief stints with the Detroit Pistons, Portland Trail Blazers, Charlotte Hornets, and, most recently, the Brooklyn Nets during the 2023-24 NBA season, where he showed off his much-improved defensive abilities. Smith quietly became one of the peskiest perimeter defenders in the league during his time in Brooklyn.

Side note: Smith briefly spent some time with Real Madrid overseas last season while waiting on his next NBA opportunity.

Smith is fully capable of being a secondary ballhandler for the Mavs, but his defensive chops could ultimately be the difference in making sure this reunion in Dallas is longer than one month.

A reunion between Smith and the Mavs has been flirted with on a couple of occasions over the last several years, sources told Mavs Step Back. For whatever reason, those potential reunions never materialized, but now, Smith has an opportunity to rekindle his NBA career with the franchise that drafted him, and he plans on taking full advantage of it. In fact, he’s already been establishing chemistry with some Mavs players in open runs over the offseason in preparation for this opportunity.

Given how much of a roller coaster ride last season was for the Mavs, with all the injuries and the shocking trade of Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers, adding Smith to the training camp roster is a feel-good story that all MFFLs should be happy about.

Whoever says you can’t speak things into existence should simply search for my Dennis Smith Jr.-related tweets over the last 5-6 years. Anything is possible, baby! Let’s get to hoopin’!

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