Will Dallas Mavericks regret trading away Dennis Smith Jr.?

On Jan. 31, the Dallas Mavericks traded young guard Dennis Smith Jr. to the New York Knicks. Since then, his play has been on another level. Will the Mavs regret giving up the young guard?

Marc Stein of the New York Times was the first to break the news of the blockbuster trade between the Dallas Mavericks and the New York Knicks.

The full trade sent Kristaps Porzingis, Tim Hardaway Jr., Courtney Lee and Trey Burke to the Mavericks and Dennis Smith Jr., DeAndre Jordan, Wesley Matthews and two future first-round picks to the Big Apple.

While the deal sent a lot of talent that can possibly help the Mavs out in the long run, Dallas had to give up its future star in Smith.

Prior to the trade, Smith was not performing to his full potential. In only his second year in the league, his stats did not improve. He was averaging 12.9 points, 4.3 assists, 3.0 rebounds, 1.3 steals per game and was also responsible for 3.1 turnovers a night during his time in Dallas this season.

Since the trade, Smith looks like a different player. So far as a Knick, he’s averaging 15.4 points, 6.5 assists, 2.8 rebounds and 1.7 steals per game, and is now only responsible for 2.3 turnovers per game.

The increase in stats also shows when looking at his Player Efficiency Rating (PER). As a Maverick this season, Smith had a PER of 11.6 – well below the league average of 15. During his short time in New York so far, he’s increased his PER to 16.6.

With the increase in stats comes an increase in his confidence — and it shows. Since the trade, Smith has been making some highlight reel plays, usually coming in the form of an awe-inspiring dunk.

In the Feb. 22 game against the Minnesota Timberwolves, DSJ took flight, making Dario Saric cower in fear:

https://twitter.com/NBATV/status/1099111761800704000

In another game against the San Antonio Spurs, DSJ almost ended Davis Bertans‘ career. Luckily, for Bertans, he missed:

https://twitter.com/BleacherReport/status/1099843202750676992

Regardless, Smith showed off his confidence by even attempting that dunk, something that he would not have done this season in Dallas. With the Knicks lacking a true leader, it looks as if DSJ is competing for that role.

In the game against the Spurs, he truly had an amazing performance, finishing with 19 points, 13 assists, six rebounds and two steals while shooting 8-for-17 from the field.

At only 21 years old, Smith suddenly looks like a boy amongst men. In the clip, he picks LaMarcus Aldridge‘s pocket and goes coast-to-coast to finish a layup with contact.

He had another steal later on in the game where he also took it coast-to-coast, but this time he lobbed it off the backboard for his teammate to slam in:

Smith is playing like he has nothing to lose. In Dallas, he was often overshadowed by the talented Luka Doncic. Overall, he just did not pair well with the future All-Star in Doncic.

He is now on a Knicks team that has no real star player or fan favorite, and he is looking to take over.

He is more willing to dribble the ball and take it to the hoop more often and stats back it up. In Dallas, he was attempting 14.2 field goals per game, whereas now he is attempting 16.8 field goals per game.

Since the trade, the Mavs and their gutted roster have gone an upsetting 4-7. With J.J. Barea injured and DSJ now in New York, Dallas is in dire need of a point guard to run the offense and help facilitate next to Doncic.

While the Mavericks’ performance since the trade has been poor, it was to be expected. After the trade deadline, Dallas had given up four members of its starting lineup in DSJ, Jordan, Matthews and Harrison Barnes, who was sent to the Sacramento Kings.

While the Mavs did receive a star in Porzingis, he still has yet to play after a prior ACL injury that has kept him sidelined. There’s no guaranteed he’s the same player who averaged 22.7 points, 6.6 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game in his last healthy season, or that he’ll want to stay in Dallas beyond the 2019-20 campaign.

While Tim Hardaway Jr. has been making an impact, averaging 16.9 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.2 assists since arriving in Dallas, it just isn’t enough yet.

The Mavs showed their cards after making those moves. Giving up that much talent, it is clear that they’re giving up their playoff contender status for this year and looking to the future instead, with Doncic and Porzingis leading the charge.

What the Mavericks also did with all of these trades is create a lot of cap room, which gives them the option of signing another big-name player in the offseason. According to Brad Townsend of Dallas Morning News, the Mavs will look to add another international player to the roster in Nikola Vucevic.

While a Big 3 of Doncic, Porzingis and Vucevic would be a threat to most of the NBA, the Mavericks would still be lacking a true point guard, so they would have to find a way to fill that void.

With the increased confidence and nothing-to-lose attitude, Dennis Smith Jr. is going to be a force. While Knicks fans are excited to see Smith’s potential, Dallas fans may be left wondering if they’ll regret giving up the young, budding star depending on what kind of core the Mavs assemble around Doncic.