The Dallas Mavericks are in a weird position deep down their organization's depth chart.
The Mavs want to keep Dennis Smith Jr. around, but they've backed themselves into a bit of a corner.
Here's the situation with the former No. 9 overall pick:
The Mavs waived Smith off their training camp roster.
Dallas wants Smith to play for their G League team, the Texas Legends, according to Marc Stein.
Smith's G League rights are already owned by a different team, the Wisconsin Herd (the Milwaukee Bucks' affiliate).
So for Smith to play for the Legends and not the Herd, a trade has to happen on the G League level.
Something similar happened earlier this week when the Windy City Bulls traded for the G League rights to Kevin Knox from the Santa Cruz Warriors.
In the weirdest bit of irony, Knox and Smith are both former No. 9 overall picks.
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Smith was originally a Mavs draft pick, and he spent the first season-and-a-half of his NBA career with the Mavericks.
He then went to the New York Knicks for two-plus seasons, and has since played for the Detroit Pistons, Portland Trail Blazers, Charlotte Hornets and Brooklyn Nets.
Smith didn't appear in an NBA game in 2024-25, and he's set to start this season in the G League rather than the top league.
Still just 27, Smith will continue to try and prove he belongs back in the NBA, but the path is uphill at this point.
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