The Dallas Mavericks have brought back their former ninth overall draft selection Dennis Smith Jr. for training camp. With no roster space, their rumored plan involves keeping Smith around to suit up for their G League affiliate, but they will first have to acquire his player rights via trade.
Who owns those rights? The Wisconsin Herd, the affiliate of the Milwaukee Bucks. Dallas will have to pay a price if they want to employ the guard as a member of their G League affiliate. While everyone may be waiting to see if the Milwaukee Bucks make a last-second trade before camp opens, it might be their G League squad that gets one done instead.
Bucks reclamation project that never panned out will depart
Per veteran NBA insider Marc Stein (subscription required), Dallas is indeed expected to acquire the rights to Smith "soon." Something is brewing between the G League squads, and understandably so. The Bucks and Herd shouldn't be intent on keeping Smith. If they can get essentially anything for him, they should pounce on it. That ship sailed a long time ago.
Some might be learning for the first time that Smith's G League rights are even in possession of the Bucks organization. Well, that's because he never played a game with the Bucks or Herd. Smith had reportedly wanted to join San Antonio's affiliate amid his NBA comeback dreams last season, per Spotrac's Keith Smith, so he never made his way to Wisconsin after they claimed his rights.
Bucks fans were certainly left disappointed with Smith's decision. While not a game-changer, he was a perfect reclamation project for a team that was sniffing around for point guard help at the time. He had a golden path back to the NBA in front of him, but instead, the guard decided to go overseas to continue his basketball career.
Now, with Smith inevitably heading to Dallas, the question is what the Herd can get for him. G League trades are rarely massive, but the Herd have a chance to add some talent here. It's something they've quietly been doing all summer, with the move to acquire former 13th overall pick Kira Lewis Jr. and bring back former Herd guard Lindell Wigginton serving as the standouts.
If the Herd can land another impact piece in exchange for a player who was never going to suit up for them, it would be a massive win.
Stay tuned for more Milwaukee Bucks analysis.