Dallas Mavericks: 5 reasons Dennis Smith Jr. was a great pick

6 of 6

Jun 22, 2017; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Dennis Smith, Jr. (NC State) is introduced by NBA commissioner Adam Silver as the number nine overall pick to the Dallas Mavericks in the first round of the 2017 NBA Draft at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports /

1. He joins a roster with good role players

In college, Dennis Smith was surrounded by poor players, and this meant that he really had to play hero-ball. He was not surrounded by effective shooters as NC State were 143rd in three-point percentage amongst NCAA teams. Most of his highlight reels were him creating everything by himself.

Dallas’ roster isn’t one that gets a lot of credit, but it has some really good shooters on the roster such as Seth Curry, Dirk Nowitzki and Harrison Barnes. This will help Dennis Smith Jr. develop.

People tried to count the hero-ball antics against him, but he didn’t have a choice as his teammates were not capable of playing on his level.

Next: 2017 NBA Draft grades for all 30 teams

The Dallas Mavericks have a really underrated roster in place, and the extra floor-spacing means that Smith will not have to do too much in his first year, as he will have more space to work with. Dallas has a good system in place, and Smith should be delighted because of this.

Home/Dallas Mavericks