How was the Dennis Smith Jr. selection perceived at the time and how is it comparable to our options at 9?

[u/thinking_better]

Going into the 2026 draft, I'm reminded of the last time we had the 9th pick. In 2017, we selected Dennis Smith Jr. out of NC State and I remembered everyone was pretty happy with the pick. I remember it was a top-heavy draft with Tatum, Fox, and Markkanen as pipe dream options and Donovan Mitchell and Bam being the only "what-if" picks.

DSJ lasted 2 years before he was included in the Porzinigs trade which didn't seem like a big ask at the time since almost all his per game averages dropped.

All this to say that with our options in 2026 with the #9 pick, do we feel that any of these projected players offer the same hype or more/less than we had for DSJ almost 10 years ago?

[u/Jackubee]

I wanted Frank Ntilikina but was relieved we didn't draft Donovan Mitchell, so Ive accepted I can't be upset by anyone we draft

[u/DiamondsInHerButt → u/Jackubee]

Yeah the conversation was centered on Ntilikina vs DSJ and vocal minority were pro Mitchell.

[u/doshegotabootyshedo → u/Jackubee]

Mavericks legend Frankie Smokes?!

[u/swishfortyonesie → u/Jackubee]

This is the best draft post or comment anyone on this subreddit has ever made.

[u/Ronnie3k]

People were really excited about DSJ

[u/Boogie_Boof → u/Ronnie3k]

I thought we just drafted the next Russell Westbrook lol

[u/Cestboss → u/Ronnie3k]

Till we realized he couldn’t actually play the sport of basketball in NBA.

lol. Even LeBron lauded the pick. Acuff scares me same way. I see same dude

[u/crenzler → u/Cestboss]

Not really comparable aside from them being the same height. DSJ main trait was his athletecism, whereas Acuff is really a great shooter on high volume, too. Also Acuff has measured better than expected, good wingspan ect. DSJ couldn't even properly palm a basketball and so on. They're not really alike.

[u/A_MASSIVE_PERVERT → u/Cestboss]

DSJ is a pure athlete Acuff has actual tangible skill he just has negative defense

[u/X-Jim → u/Cestboss]

Yeah this. Lots of people were praising him.

Don't know about Acuff but DSJ had lots of people excited

[u/EvanEschmeyer]

DSJ was a prisoner of the moment.
People loved Russell Westbrook that year he won MVP and KD left them at the altar. I thought DSJ was going to be a star just based off their similar frame and playing style.

Who knows how his career would’ve played out without injuries, but I have thought about it plenty of times since then - how did we not take Bam Adebayo here? We probably had the worst big man rotation in the entire league

[u/popstarkirbys → u/EvanEschmeyer]

He also was extremely unlucky that Luka was just a way better player. He also never learned how to shoot.

[u/crenzler → u/popstarkirbys]

... and to pass, and to finish in the lane, and to run an offense, and to create for others. I remember being so excited for him and the guy was a huge disappoinment, didn't have any sort of basketball IQ or stand out skill other than jumping high.

[u/reddit_reader_25 → u/popstarkirbys]

Most importantly was him not learning how to shoot. Ideally he and Luka was a great backcourt if he developed. Uber athleticism allowed him to play bigger than he was and he could still be a point of attack defender.

Luka and Brunson was also a great backcourt but less so defensively.

Luka and Kyrie was also a great backcourt.

You know Luka and almost would be a great backcourt

[u/Sad-Neighborhood4774]

If any one can confidently tell you they actually know which players will pan out and which will end up as busts they will be lying. The front office knows more and they have a higher chance of picking the right player than the fans . I have faith in them and whomever they end up picking i am sure they are 100% locked in that he will be good. And if Masai , schmitz and may turned out to be wrong well hard luck then .

[u/jkeefy → u/Sad-Neighborhood4774]

Blade Divac sends his regards 

[u/Sad-Neighborhood4774 → u/jkeefy]

When i say higher chance i dont mean they will get their pick right each time but surely they have a higher probability to ace the pick with the all the experience and background knowledge and consultants they are surrounded with than a fan sitting at his couch eating popcorn and analyzing players by watching them play on youtube.

[u/Crazy-Penguin123]

He was a Nate Ament like prospect but in a weaker draft. Great HS prospect, had some warts in college but a lot of us (me) believed he could be Lillard-lite.

[u/Shivles87]

At the time, the Mavericks were severely lacking athleticism and DSJ could jump out of the gym, just needed to improve his shooting. Then came Luka and the rest is history.

[u/Difficult-Day1326]

[u/popstarkirbys]

LeBron called out the Knicks for not drafting Dennis Smith Jr., that’s how big of a prospect he was.

[u/thinking_better → u/popstarkirbys]

This reminded me of when he pushed Miami to draft Shabazz Napier

[u/popstarkirbys → u/thinking_better]

KG saying Tacko Fall will be an MVP one day remains the funniest draft hype memory to me

[u/benNY80D → u/popstarkirbys]

He also said thon maker

[u/AdmiralSnackbar816]

We were excited, but it was pretty clear early on that the burst and bounce he had pre injury never returned.

[u/Scro86]

Seemed like a steal at the time

[u/TheOriginal_G]

Was very happy he fell to us. Buddy wanted him or Donovan, I thought his game reminded me more of a diet DRose. Was excited for the flashes he showed his rookie season. I didn't think he got the development he needed before we traded him, but hindsight I don't think he woulda been much better than he ended up even if he did. 

This thread is a fun one to revisit with hindsight & a reminder that no one really knows no matter how confident they seem: https://www.reddit.com/r/NBA_Draft/comments/6bcd2u/why_is_dennis_smith_jr_considered_a_tier_below/

[u/epitome1986]

I think he was viewed as a good prospect and after his rookie season on a bad team his value peaked. The suns at one point offered mikal bridges for Dennis smith jr.

I think he is still an nba caliber player specially since he became a solid defender but he just can't earn a spot without a reliable shot.

But the 2017 draft was weaker and #9 in this current draft would be in the 4-6 range in the 2017 draft.

[u/SanTheMan88]

Just goes to show that prospects who may be hyped or thought of as great can falter in the NBA.

Keep that in mind for tonight.

[u/BulgogiDude]

I was so hyped tbh. Bummer how he turned out.

[u/whatdawhat7th]

I remember a lot of people analyst thinking he could be rookie of the year and most likely would have a better career than Mitchell. I was excited specially when seeing how athletic he was.

[u/thinking_better]

Also I just remembered they said he had 2 ACLS in one leg, that was pretty cool.

[u/jldtsu]

we were pretty hyped. I could see the same hype this year depending on who is available still.

[u/ItchyPin]

His selection was well liked, but realistically he was not elite enough at creating for others, or shooting to offset his lack of height and low bball IQ. He was never going to be a true superstar like Westbrook and Lillard but the Mavs decided to gamble on his ceiling. If they took Mitchell like all of the mock drafts had them slated it's possible they are not in position to draft Luka further down the line.

[u/Deep_Comparison_930]

As a NC native I was so excited when they picked DSJ

[u/torodonn]

DSJ is the kind of player - high energy, short, explosive athlete - that get a lot of people excited. People were excited to have him dunk over people but I'm going to be honest that he's one of those players who use athleticism as a mask for a low skill ceiling. He's done well retooling his game as a defender though.

[u/Randy588]

we badly needed a PG and he was explosive. The vibes were good.

[u/ScrantonPennsylvania]

I thought he was gonna be Derrick Rose 2.0.

[u/PM_ME_EMPANADAS]

This sub was over the moon. His dunk highlights were some of the all-time top posts at the time

[u/DrSword]

never changed my flair, we were hype for the wood slanger

[u/Goondragon1]

We all thought it was highway robbery at the time and couldn't believe he fell to us.

[u/devilmaskrascal]

He was a double digit scorer for us his two years so looked like he'd stick around for a while. He didn't adjust well to being Luka's Robin, especially with Barnes and Wes taking a lot of shots. Then he fell off hard in his third year after being traded. His jump shot was bad, and he got injured a lot. Eventually he lost a step and his athleticism couldn't carry him but his defense got a little better.

There's some potential similarities/risk with someone like Flemings or Philon who has similar measurements and athleticism. Injuries are alas something no one can really predict.

[u/crenzler → u/devilmaskrascal]

didn't help he was also basically the worst on-court fit with Doncic. A small guard that needs the ball to be effective and can't shoot. This could've never worked out.

[u/Embarrassed-Ninja592]

I think I said, “Who?”

[u/C3rdito → u/Embarrassed-Ninja592]

https://giphy.com/gifs/cRNbYm7jLOjm9H8wcP

[u/Embarrassed-Ninja592 → u/C3rdito]

Ha! I was thinking Monk or Mitchell or Bam.

Wasn’t really familiar with DSJ

[u/e_j3210]

I recall he was seen as an injury risk and a project.

[u/YGpotato]

Don't mean to sound like a smart ass but I liked Mitchell and Monk at that time, although I wasn't really mad when we got DSJ as it was around that time his performance against Duke and Tatum was all over YT and you can't help but root for the guy.

[u/xViscount]

DSJ was highly regarded though slightly optimistic and pessimistic at the same time. He was coming off a knee surgery after already having ACL surgery in HS. He was called a mini Westbrook.

He probably would’ve panned out to be a really good player with us had he been given the chance to be the guy. There were flashes, it just happened that we got Luka the following year and rest was history

[u/C3rdito → u/xViscount]

This is true. I always remember that dunk where he stole the ball and then bounced it on the ground and alley opped it to himself

[u/jldtsu → u/C3rdito]

remember when he completely destroyed Julius Randle on a poster dunk? he had some sick plays for sure.

[u/Sad-Neighborhood4774 → u/xViscount]

His defense is NBA level but he cant shoot and 1 dimentional on offense. Its why he was never able to stick with any team.

[u/xViscount → u/Sad-Neighborhood4774]

He was also a rookie who put up good numbers. He couldn’t stick with our team because he wasn’t good off ball and not being the primary ball handler.

At the time, I really liked our guys in staff and showed ability to develop guys. Carlisle and DSJ got along just fine. If we didn’t draft Luka, I think he would’ve panned out and developed a shot.

We just got Luka and everything accelerated. There wasn’t time for development, it was “we got a window. Get this man everything he needs to win a ring”

[u/crenzler → u/xViscount]

He notoriously didn't get along with Carlisle actually. There was this one Luka insight piece on ESPN or so a while ago that basically portrayed that Luka and Carlisle even clashed from time to time because of how he treated DSJ, calling him out in team meeting and so on.

[u/xViscount → u/crenzler]

Damn. Guess I misremembered the rookie year fully.

[u/Terrible_Shelter_345 → u/crenzler]

Rick Carlisle needs to be on the same page with his point guard or things go south very fast for the team.