Knicks guard Dennis Smith Jr. insisted on Saturday that he wants to remain in New York, but rumors persist he wouldn’t object to a trade, writes Marc Berman of The New York Post.
Asked about that possibility at this morning’s shootaround, Smith responded: “I like playing for the Knicks. So whatever I’ve got to do, I’m going to take care of that.’’
When pressed on the topic, Smith said: “I want to be here. … My thing is to take care of what I got going on now. I’m with the New York Knicks, so I try to be the best version of me with this team.”
Berman says Smith became concerned about his future in New York when the Knicks signed free-agent guard Elfrid Payton in July and virtually promised him the starting point guard role. Smith’s camp considered asking for a trade at that point, but decided against it. Shams Charania of The Athletic reported this week that executives from several teams have contacted the Knicks about Smith, and they believe he would welcome a fresh start.
“The way I look at it, of course, you come in and you want to play,’’ Smith said. “I don’t know how much you’re supposed to feed into it. You want to see (Payton) do well. You want to do well yourself. That’s what it’s really about.’’
Smith, Payton and Frank Ntilikina have been staging a three-way battle since training camp for playing time at point guard. Smith is currently at the back of the line, averaging just 16.1 minutes per night, and will miss his second straight game tonight with a strained oblique. He was slowed by a back injury in training camp and left the team for two weeks after his stepmother died.
The injuries and lack of playing time are driving down Smith’s trade value, creating a difficult situation for team president Steve Mills and GM Scott Perry, who are already on shaky ground. Smith was the centerpiece of the deal that sent Kristaps Porzingis to the Mavericks in January, and it would be embarrassing for the front office to ship him off now without getting something significant in return.
