LeBron James Takes a Shot at Phil Jackson, Says Mavs' Dennis Smith Jr. is 'Diamond in the Rough'
Dallas Mavericks rookie Dennis Smith Jr. made some impressive stats recently, and his performance is catching some attention from around the league. And one of those whose interest was piqued was LeBron James, who recently said Smith was a "diamond in the rough."
Coming off a 111-104 win, James said in a postgame interview: "The Knicks passed on a really good one, and Dallas got the diamond in the rough." The four-time NBA Most Valuable Player awardee was referring to Smith, who scored 21 points in the said game.
Although James was aware that his statement was going to cause a stir, that did not stop him from saying that the New York Knicks had passed on what could have been a great addition to their rebuilding team.
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"He should be a Knick. That's going to make some headlines, but he should be a Knick. Dallas is definitely, I know they're excited that he didn't go there," James said.
It is important to note that the New York Knicks were still headed by then-President Phil Jackson at the time when the 2017 NBA Draft negotiations were happening. Smith was supposed to be the draft pick for the team until they decided to pass and instead selected French basketball player Frank Ntilikina.
As expected, there were several reactions that disagreed with what James said, and one of them came from Knicks player Enes Kanter. In a tweet, Kanter shared an article that featured James' statement and commented: "Nope!! We love what we got... Thanks!!!"
Kanter was part of a trade deal that brought Carmelo Anthony to the Oklahoma City Thunder in September.
Apart from a well-played game against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Nov. 11, the attention that Smith is getting may also have been caused by his record-breaking performance in his first 10 games as a pro basketball player.
Smith bagged 142 points and 49 assists in his first 10 games this season -- the third best performance in all of NBA's history for a rookie in his first year.
The 19-year-old point guard follows James and Kyrie Irving in this category. At the top spot, James scored 168 points and 64 assists in his first 10 games as a rookie when he was just 18 years old. Meanwhile, Irving was in second place with 166 points and 52 assists. He had also been 19 years old at the time.
Meanwhile, James and the rest of the Cavaliers are set to face the Knicks on Monday, Nov. 13, at 7:30 p.m. EST at the Madison Square Garden in New York City.
