A native of Fayetteville, North Carolina, star of his high school and then the faculty of NC State, Dennis Smith Jr should be part of the long line of phenomena produced by the state. But the scoring leader has never managed to win once away from his land, whether at the Dallas Mavericks, the New York Knicks, the Detroit Pistons or the Portland Trail Blazers. So it’s a homecoming. He signed up with his local franchise, the Charlotte Hornets.
Free agent guard Dennis Smith Jr. has agreed to a one-year deal with the Charlotte Hornets, his agent Daniel Hazan of Hazan Sports Management told @TheAthletic @Stadium.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) September 21, 2022
The contract is for one year but it is not fully guaranteed and it is already a simple invitation for the training camp and the preseason. A possibly renewable deal if ever the 24-year-old player proves himself in the coming weeks. It’s sad but it almost already looks like a last chance for Dennis Smith Jr. The ninth choice of the 2017 draft had compiled more than 15 points per game in his NBA debut but has never won since.