The Brooklyn Nets are in the midst of an offseason in which they have plenty of matters to address before the 2024-25 season comes around. When it comes to free-agency, outside of Brooklyn trying to bring back free-agent center Nic Claxton on a reasonable contract, there is one free-agent who could be back in Brooklyn.
Backup point guard Dennis Smith Jr. is one of five free-agents (excluding the Two-Way players) that the Nets have this summer and it’s worth wondering if he will be brought back for next season. Smith came to the team last summer on a one-year, $2.5 million minimum contract after playing for the Charlotte Hornets during the 2022-23 campaign.
Smith, 26, played in 56 games this past season (two starts) and averaged 6.6 points, 2.9 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 1.2 steals per game while shooting 43.5% from the field and 29.4% from three-point land. For what Smith was brought in to do, play defense and run the offense, he did his job and also had some highlight moments as well.
Smith made it clear that if he were to come back to Brooklyn, it would take a multi-year deal since that’s what he’s looking for. That makes sense for Smith given that he’s been playing on one-year deals since the 2021-22 season when he played for the Portland Trail Blazers.
It’s possible that Smith feels that he has proven himself as he has reinvented himself from a scorer to a defensive-minded point guard that has a nose for the basketball. Part of what comes with his physical style is the tendency for him to get hurt as the 56 games that he played in the 2023-24 season were the most that he’s played in a season since he played in 69 games during his rookie year in 2017-18.
With the Nets possibly looking towards 2025 free-agency to have a big spending spree, the team may not want to sign too many long-term deal so that they can remain flexible. Either way, if Smith’s monetary demands are in line with Brooklyn’s thinking, he could be a backup point guard for the Nets for awhile.
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