Mavericks Notes: Smith Jr., Trades, Doncic

The struggle between Dennis Smith Jr. and Rick Carlisle continues, though the Mavericks still hold hope that they can reconcile the situation. Smith is reportedly unhappy with his in-season role change and the push for appears to be coming from DSJ’s camp.

The Mavs want the former No. 9 overall pick, who hasn’t played in over a week because of back issues and an “illness,” to return to the court on their terms but it’s not as if the team is making DSJ sit in the corner on every play. Carlisle has attempted to call specific plays with the intent of getting Smith in rhythm and the combo guard would break off the play and improvise, a scout tells Tim Bontemps of ESPN.com (Twitter link).

Both sides are clearly frustrated. Luka Doncic has certainly outshined Smith and there isn’t room for both of them to be the primary play-maker. As we wait to see if a resolution occurs, let’s take a look at more notes from Dallas:

  • Kevin Pelton of ESPN.com examines what the market would look like for Smith. Pelton believes a high lottery pick would be too much to give up for a point guard with years of progress to go before becoming a top player.
  • Doncic has been a more effective scorer this season when spending more time off the ball and next to Smith, Pelton explains in the same piece. Doncic has a higher true shooting percentage in those situations and with Carlisle’s propensity to play multiple point guards at the same time, concerns about the two fitting together may be overblown. Pelton argues that if the Mavericks trade Smith and use the Doncic-Smith fit as a scapegoat, it could in fact simply be a cover for a decision that the Mavericks would have made regardless of how the two meshed.
  • In the same piece, Pelton takes a look at all the former top-10 picks since 2012 that have switched teams before the end of their second season. Outside of Buddy Hield in Sacramento, it’s easy to argue that no team was thrilled with the production it received when trading for a former top-10 pick. Thomas Robinson, Anthony Bennett, Nik Stauskas, Noah Vonleh, and Kris Dunn conclude the list.
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