N.C. State point guard Dennis Smith Jr. held a Pro Day at his old school on Thursday and six NBA teams attended.
The Knicks attended the workout, as did Charlotte, Dallas, Detroit, Miami and Minnesota. From there, Smith Jr. left Friday morning for Boston where he was slated to meet with Celtics GM Danny Ainge, a source told ZAGSBLOG. Ange attended N.C. State’s walk through for their game at Boston College in January and also attended a game in Raleigh. The Celtics own the No. 1 pick in Thursday’s NBA Draft and have been heavily linked to Washington guard Markelle Fultz. Smith Jr. also worked out for the Lakers last week and had dinner with Phil Jackson of the Knicks but did not workout, as FanRagSports.com first reported. His longtime trainer, Shawn Farmer, said that Smith Jr. would love the chance to play with Carmelo Anthony. “Oh my God, he would love the chance to play with a guy like a Melo,” Farmer told FanRagSports.com. “Those guys are proven, USA (Basketball), Olympic players, I think he would mesh well. And Junior wants to learn now, too. He doesn’t just want to go in and think he knows everything. He wants to get up under those guys’ wing and learn from those guys.” The 6-foot-3 Smith averaged 18.1 points, 6.2 assists and 4.6 rebounds this season for the Wolfpack. “With Dennis you’re getting a young man that prior to his MCL injury a couple years ago, was considered in the same class as Ball and Markelle Fultz and this year was somewhat hidden in plain sight on a bad team,” ESPN’s Fran Fraschilla said on The 4 Quarters Podcast. “Quite frankly, I thought Dennis’ production dropped of at the end of the year, as did N.C. State’s record, causing them to fire their coach. “I think in Dennis you’re talking about an alpha dog, a Kyle Lowry type, a guy with a chip on his shoulder, an athlete who can get to the basket. He had four games of 10 assists or more. You don’t this about guards very often, but he’s raw. He’s going to need to be coddled and coached in an NBA game but the athleticism, the strength and the ability to get to the basket is there.”
The Knicks attended the workout, as did Charlotte, Dallas, Detroit, Miami and Minnesota. From there, Smith Jr. left Friday morning for Boston where he was slated to meet with Celtics GM Danny Ainge, a source told ZAGSBLOG. Ange attended N.C. State’s walk through for their game at Boston College in January and also attended a game in Raleigh. The Celtics own the No. 1 pick in Thursday’s NBA Draft and have been heavily linked to Washington guard Markelle Fultz. Smith Jr. also worked out for the Lakers last week and had dinner with Phil Jackson of the Knicks but did not workout, as FanRagSports.com first reported. His longtime trainer, Shawn Farmer, said that Smith Jr. would love the chance to play with Carmelo Anthony. “Oh my God, he would love the chance to play with a guy like a Melo,” Farmer told FanRagSports.com. “Those guys are proven, USA (Basketball), Olympic players, I think he would mesh well. And Junior wants to learn now, too. He doesn’t just want to go in and think he knows everything. He wants to get up under those guys’ wing and learn from those guys.” The 6-foot-3 Smith averaged 18.1 points, 6.2 assists and 4.6 rebounds this season for the Wolfpack. “With Dennis you’re getting a young man that prior to his MCL injury a couple years ago, was considered in the same class as Ball and Markelle Fultz and this year was somewhat hidden in plain sight on a bad team,” ESPN’s Fran Fraschilla said on The 4 Quarters Podcast. “Quite frankly, I thought Dennis’ production dropped of at the end of the year, as did N.C. State’s record, causing them to fire their coach. “I think in Dennis you’re talking about an alpha dog, a Kyle Lowry type, a guy with a chip on his shoulder, an athlete who can get to the basket. He had four games of 10 assists or more. You don’t this about guards very often, but he’s raw. He’s going to need to be coddled and coached in an NBA game but the athleticism, the strength and the ability to get to the basket is there.”
