By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
The meteoric rise of Luka Doncic which resulted in trade rumors for Dennis Smith Jr. has created a soap opera in Dallas. Smith has missed the last four games, three officially because of back soreness and the fourth for an illness, and the Mavericks are trying to reconcile with him and move forward.
While nobody officially admits that there the young player has an issue with Doncic and his role, it’s obvious that there’s friction and Dallas Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle repeated on his weekly radio show that Smith Jr. “is welcome to come back and rejoin the team whenever he feels like he can“.
“I don’t know exactly what’s going on, but I know one thing: This kid is a team guy, and he loves being with his teammates, and he really respects his teammates,” Carlisle said Friday on 103.3 FM ESPN in Dallas. “This is just my feeling, is that he’s being told to stay away for whatever reason. I just don’t want people out there to think he is snubbing the Mavs or anything like that. This is just my opinion, I believe there’s business stuff going on, and he’s being told to stay away. Listen, if that’s what they feel is in his best interests, he should trust his advisers. But it’s unlike him not to want to be with his teammates. I do feel strongly that people should not look at Dennis in this situation now and judge him harshly, that he’s doing something against his teammates or the Mavs or anything like that. I just think this is a business-type situation, and this is what he’s being advised to do.”
While they have been reports about a possible trade with Orlando, for the moment Dallas denies any trade scenario.