Why it’s Dennis Smith Jr., not the Dallas Mavericks who wants a trade

It really doesn’t make sense for the Dallas Mavericks to trade Dennis Smith Jr, but all the sense in the world for DSJ to want a trade…

From the moment the rumors started, fans have been upset about the idea of trading Dennis Smith Jr this early into his promising career. The 2018 top-10 pick endeared himself to Dallas Mavericks fans last season and has flashed enough potential to be considered a building block for the future.

It’s no wonder many are astonished to find out the Dallas Mavericks are seriously considering moving their star player this soon into Year 2.

The reality is, this story likely has more to do with DSJ’s wants and desires than it does the Mavs’. The Mavs don’t know what they have in Dennis – there’s still much to be learned about how he will personnaly develop and how he’ll meld and co-exist with Luka. But while we don’t know what’s best for the Mavs we probably know what’s best for DSJ and that’s that he’s probably better off elsewhere.

It’s unlikely the Dallas Mavericks are behind the push to trade Dennis Smith Jr. They legitimately like the man (and the player) and have ever incentive to make the Doncic-Dennis pairing work. They are only 28 games into the melding process and have theoretically two seasons to go.

With so much highway ahead and so much potential as a possibility, trading DSJ makes very little sense to the Dallas Mavericks.

But it makes considerably more sense to Dennis Smith Jr. DSJ is at his best with the ball in his hands. With Luka Doncic on the team, he’s just not going to get that opportunity often enough. So why would he want to play second fiddle here in Dallas when he can be the lead dog somewhere else?

DSJ is at a crossroads in his career and if he’s determined to be a star and focal point then he’s better served going somewhere that needs ball-handlers. It only makes sense from his perspective.

DSJ didn’t “demand” a trade

“Demand” is the operative word here because DSJ can let his intentions be known without actually “demanding” anything. Alternating between injury and illness is a great way to start that process.