Mavericks Reunite With Dennis Smith Jr. on One-Year Contract
mavericks-reunite-with-dennis-smith-jr-one-year-contract
Dallas — September 18, 2025: The Dallas Mavericks have reached agreement with guard Dennis Smith Jr. on a one-year deal, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania. The 27-year-old was the No. 9 pick in the 2017 NBA Draft and spent his first season-and-a-half with Dallas.
Before adding Smith, the Mavericks already had 15 players on standard contracts. One of those slots belongs to Brandon Williams, whose salary is guaranteed for only $200,000 until opening night. Smith’s new contract is expected to be partially guaranteed as well, setting up a likely competition between the two guards during training camp.
The front office could explore a trade to create room if it hopes to keep both players. Earlier in the offseason, Dallas reportedly considered moving Jaden Hardy while waiving and stretching Olivier-Maxence Prosper’s contract to re-sign Dante Exum, though it is unclear whether Hardy remains available.
Smith, a 6-foot-2 product of NC State, averaged 14.5 points and 4.9 assists in 101 starts for Dallas from 2017 to 2019 before being sent to New York in the Kristaps Porziņģis trade. Since then, he has not appeared in more than 58 games for any single team, making stops with the Knicks, Pistons, Trail Blazers, Hornets and Nets.
His most productive stretch came with Charlotte in 2022-23, when he averaged 8.8 points and 4.8 assists while earning praise for his perimeter defense. The Hornets declined to re-sign him, leading to a stint in Brooklyn in 2023-24; he was out of the league last season.
Across 326 career games (152 starts), Smith owns averages of 9.7 points, 4.2 assists, 3.0 rebounds and 1.2 steals.
Source: Hoops Rumors
