We can finally put this to rest. Did the Knicks "pass" on Dennis Smith? Or did the opt NOT to draft a player with a bad knee who refused to give them a physical?

I thought they liked me a lot,’’ Smith said. “Everything happens for a reason. I’m happy for him and his success.”

In mid-June, Smith dined with Jackson but never worked out. Smith claimed the Knicks went back on their word.

“Something was established — I was going to work out, but just no physicals,’’ Smith said. “They kept saying, let’s get a physical, let’s get a physical. It was going back on your word, so I was saying no.”

Yea... so the Knicks wanted a physical. Smith refused to give them one. So they passed on the workout and drafting him.

Please triangle PG bashers do tell us all why it made perfect sense to draft a player with injuries issues who refused to give you a physical. Knicks had ZERO choice but to pass on him and focus on Monk/Mithcell/Frank and they did just fine.

fishmike wrote:We can finally put this to rest. Did the Knicks "pass" on Dennis Smith?

A lot of teams "passed" on DSJr. He has the reputation of being a diva and a gigantic @sshole. He has, from a raw tool set, the most talent of anyone in his draft class. When they say a guy can "jump out of the gym", they aren't being literal usually. But DSJr could literally jump out of a gym.

Rick Carlisle is a good situation for him.

I don't understand this Either/Or position some people have. It's entirely possible both Frank N and DSJr each went to the best situation for their temperament/skill set. And both will do better there than elsewhere.

If DSJr didn't want to get passed over so many times, he could have always tried not being such a diva and a motherf**king @sshole to everyone. OK Jackson didn't draft you, no need to take the Rich Paul Express and keep jabbing over it. Prove it on the field, not with your mouth.

Smith is just a huge crybaby. Dude really just needs to go change his tampon before he talks to the press.

What was he hiding? Did he take a physical with ANY team, by the way.

I expect that he didn't take one at all...leaks about a bad physical would have hurt his draft position, no doubt.

Carlisle would have glued Smith to the bench from day one.

GustavBahler wrote:Rick Carlisle, who doesn't suffer fools on the court gladly, has praised Smith for his maturity, and willingness to learn. A case can be made for passing on Smith because he refused a physical. The narrative however that Smith is some immature, Diva, And1, nightmare, is way over the top.

Carlisle would have glued Smith to the bench from day one.

Another way to look at it is that is easier to act like a prima donna when you're amonst your peers than when you're a rookie joining a team including players who wear a ring. Maybe DSJ knows he's got to keep it low for a while but his true nature will come back when/if he's made the new face of the team. This is all speculation though, and we'll know more in a couple years.

CrushAlot wrote:

Juliano wrote:

GustavBahler wrote:Rick Carlisle, who doesn't suffer fools on the court gladly, has praised Smith for his maturity, and willingness to learn. A case can be made for passing on Smith because he refused a physical. The narrative however that Smith is some immature, Diva, And1, nightmare, is way over the top.

Carlisle would have glued Smith to the bench from day one.

Another way to look at it is that is easier to act like a prima donna when you're amonst your peers than when you're a rookie joining a team including players who wear a ring. Maybe DSJ knows he's got to keep it low for a while but his true nature will come back when/if he's made the new face of the team. This is all speculation though, and we'll know more in a couple years.

Not with Carlisle. See Noel and Rondo for recent guys that didn't buy into Carlisle's way of doing things.

Well that's my point. Maybe DSJ is just keeping a low profile during his rookie season because he knows Carlisle isn't going to take any ****, but his alleged alpha dog nature will come back later when his player power will be more significant? As for any rookie, Frank included, any judgment will be premature before 2/3 years anyway.

GustavBahler wrote:

CrushAlot wrote:

Juliano wrote:

GustavBahler wrote:Rick Carlisle, who doesn't suffer fools on the court gladly, has praised Smith for his maturity, and willingness to learn. A case can be made for passing on Smith because he refused a physical. The narrative however that Smith is some immature, Diva, And1, nightmare, is way over the top.

Carlisle would have glued Smith to the bench from day one.

Another way to look at it is that is easier to act like a prima donna when you're amonst your peers than when you're a rookie joining a team including players who wear a ring. Maybe DSJ knows he's got to keep it low for a while but his true nature will come back when/if he's made the new face of the team. This is all speculation though, and we'll know more in a couple years.

Not with Carlisle. See Noel and Rondo for recent guys that didn't buy into Carlisle's way of doing things.

Yup. Carlisle was fired from his two previous teams in spite of posting 50 plus win seasons. Mainly because he doesn't take crap from anyone. Seems like some posters have to justify picking Frank by implying that Smith is of low character. If that were the case, Smith would be under Carlisle's doghouse. Just not cool.

GustavBahler wrote:Rick Carlisle, who doesn't suffer fools on the court gladly, has praised Smith for his maturity, and willingness to learn. A case can be made for passing on Smith because he refused a physical. The narrative however that Smith is some immature, Diva, And1, nightmare, is way over the top.

Carlisle would have glued Smith to the bench from day one.

It’s not over the top, wasn’t that his rep in college?

Perhaps he has been better in Dallas but that wouldn’t negate things before the draft.

Does he play D like our boy Frank?.

TripleThreat wrote:

GustavBahler wrote:Rick Carlisle, who doesn't suffer fools on the court gladly, has praised Smith for his maturity, and willingness to learn. A case can be made for passing on Smith because he refused a physical. The narrative however that Smith is some immature, Diva, And1, nightmare, is way over the top.

Carlisle would have glued Smith to the bench from day one.

Carlisle isn't going to burn a player, esp a rookie, to the press for just no reason at all. What else is a coach going to say? He's working hard. He's in the best shape of his life. He's committed to this team. Blah. Blah. Blah. Standard verbal diarrhea to keep the press off the teams back.

If DSJr was acting like a gigantic POS, do you think Carlisle is going to spread that noise in the press?

The NBA itself, as a league has it's own internal security. Former and retired law enforcement/military/military contractors. Each individual team has it's own internal security. Again former and retired law enforcement, including those with local ties. Part of that is because sports events end up providing massive overtime for LE agencies. The other issue is having a guy entrenched with the local LE community can smooth things out. Noah goes to some restaurant in Brooklyn and punches some dude out, a guy who spent 25 years in the NYPD who works of the Knicks is going to make things that much easier to bury. Each major D1 university has it's own law enforcement, including specific people assigned to the sports teams and even travel with them. Again to smooth things over and bury things if needed. Meaning there are NO SECRETS. When a player gets his deep background run for the draft, THERE ARE NO SECRETS.

Every girl you f**ked. Any time you stole something. Any room mate who hates you. Any neighbor with a story to tell. Any time you shoplifted something. No secrets. None. To do a full "vet" of a draft prospect, no stone is unturned. People get paid off. People are blackmailed or extorted for information. People are given low level jobs for access to certain information. They will go through the trash of a players family. They will talk to the doctor who gave his exgf an abortion. If he's got a cousin who is in a gang, they know.

I'm not going to air every single bit of dirty laundry of every player in the league. What Chris Bosh wants to wear in his home in private doesn't impact what he did on the court. Who Aaron Rodgers or JJ Watt or Luke Walton like to "party" with in private doesn't matter to anyone on the field.

But for every guy here clamoring for the Knicks to get DSJr, here is the end result.

Zinger would be heading to practice, then DSJr would say, let's blow off practice and just have some fun. Six hours later, in a room with people doing coke and plenty of hookers and gangsters around, someone would say something stupid, probably DSJr, then a 9mm would go off. Then Zinger would be lying dead with a couple of shot up hookers with his brains all over the floor. This is why DSJr fell in the draft. Yes he has an injury history. But that's a soft cover. He's the kind of guy you don't want other young players to be around. From a raw tool set standpoint, he was the most physically gifted guy in his draft.

If you wanted Zinger to get shot
If you wanted Zinger to get stabbed by a hooker covered in blow
If you wanted Zinger to hang out with guys you'd only find in a cheap @ss Dolph Lundgren 80s action movie beating other people to death
If you wanted Zinger to blow off practice and end up on TMZ
If you wanted Zinger to end up found in some crack house like Lamar Odom

Then Yes, by all means, the Knicks should have drafted DSJr.

The day the Mavericks drafted DSJr, someone should have given Carlisle a cattle prod. I kid you the f**k not, teams passed on this guy because he's an @sshole. And the NBA is FULL OF @SSHOLES. Think about how epic of an @SSHOLE you have to be for even NBA teams to say, Jesus H Christ, this dude is even too much of a jerkoff for even this culture. Agents, the greediest MFers on the planet, even said F**k this guy. Think about that, dudes who have the job of babysitting these man children said no no, no amount of money is worth it to deal with this MFer.

Ntilikina is repped by Leon Rose and CAA, the most powerful representation agency on the planet. And they wouldn't touch DSJr if you held guns to their heads. CAA is successful because they make good bets. They are betting on Frank FOR A REASON. They are not betting on DSJr FOR A REASON.

There is not enough toilet paper in the entire world to wipe the stain coming from DSJr as a risk to your team and esp to your young franchise player hopefuls.

Most of what you spewed has absolutely nothing to do with Dennis Smith jr.

Carlisle has made a career of showing that he has a very low threshold for BS from any player. This includes future HOF, championship winning PGs. If Smith was of such low character, it would be evident by now,

You talk about this young man like you know him intimately, but we're supposed to ignore one of the toughest coaches in the league who says that Smith jr. isnt the cartoon character you make him out to be.

GustavBahler wrote:

TripleThreat wrote:

GustavBahler wrote:Rick Carlisle, who doesn't suffer fools on the court gladly, has praised Smith for his maturity, and willingness to learn. A case can be made for passing on Smith because he refused a physical. The narrative however that Smith is some immature, Diva, And1, nightmare, is way over the top.

Carlisle would have glued Smith to the bench from day one.

Carlisle isn't going to burn a player, esp a rookie, to the press for just no reason at all. What else is a coach going to say? He's working hard. He's in the best shape of his life. He's committed to this team. Blah. Blah. Blah. Standard verbal diarrhea to keep the press off the teams back.

If DSJr was acting like a gigantic POS, do you think Carlisle is going to spread that noise in the press?

The NBA itself, as a league has it's own internal security. Former and retired law enforcement/military/military contractors. Each individual team has it's own internal security. Again former and retired law enforcement, including those with local ties. Part of that is because sports events end up providing massive overtime for LE agencies. The other issue is having a guy entrenched with the local LE community can smooth things out. Noah goes to some restaurant in Brooklyn and punches some dude out, a guy who spent 25 years in the NYPD who works of the Knicks is going to make things that much easier to bury. Each major D1 university has it's own law enforcement, including specific people assigned to the sports teams and even travel with them. Again to smooth things over and bury things if needed. Meaning there are NO SECRETS. When a player gets his deep background run for the draft, THERE ARE NO SECRETS.

Every girl you f**ked. Any time you stole something. Any room mate who hates you. Any neighbor with a story to tell. Any time you shoplifted something. No secrets. None. To do a full "vet" of a draft prospect, no stone is unturned. People get paid off. People are blackmailed or extorted for information. People are given low level jobs for access to certain information. They will go through the trash of a players family. They will talk to the doctor who gave his exgf an abortion. If he's got a cousin who is in a gang, they know.

I'm not going to air every single bit of dirty laundry of every player in the league. What Chris Bosh wants to wear in his home in private doesn't impact what he did on the court. Who Aaron Rodgers or JJ Watt or Luke Walton like to "party" with in private doesn't matter to anyone on the field.

But for every guy here clamoring for the Knicks to get DSJr, here is the end result.

Zinger would be heading to practice, then DSJr would say, let's blow off practice and just have some fun. Six hours later, in a room with people doing coke and plenty of hookers and gangsters around, someone would say something stupid, probably DSJr, then a 9mm would go off. Then Zinger would be lying dead with a couple of shot up hookers with his brains all over the floor. This is why DSJr fell in the draft. Yes he has an injury history. But that's a soft cover. He's the kind of guy you don't want other young players to be around. From a raw tool set standpoint, he was the most physically gifted guy in his draft.

If you wanted Zinger to get shot
If you wanted Zinger to get stabbed by a hooker covered in blow
If you wanted Zinger to hang out with guys you'd only find in a cheap @ss Dolph Lundgren 80s action movie beating other people to death
If you wanted Zinger to blow off practice and end up on TMZ
If you wanted Zinger to end up found in some crack house like Lamar Odom

Then Yes, by all means, the Knicks should have drafted DSJr.

The day the Mavericks drafted DSJr, someone should have given Carlisle a cattle prod. I kid you the f**k not, teams passed on this guy because he's an @sshole. And the NBA is FULL OF @SSHOLES. Think about how epic of an @SSHOLE you have to be for even NBA teams to say, Jesus H Christ, this dude is even too much of a jerkoff for even this culture. Agents, the greediest MFers on the planet, even said F**k this guy. Think about that, dudes who have the job of babysitting these man children said no no, no amount of money is worth it to deal with this MFer.

Ntilikina is repped by Leon Rose and CAA, the most powerful representation agency on the planet. And they wouldn't touch DSJr if you held guns to their heads. CAA is successful because they make good bets. They are betting on Frank FOR A REASON. They are not betting on DSJr FOR A REASON.

There is not enough toilet paper in the entire world to wipe the stain coming from DSJr as a risk to your team and esp to your young franchise player hopefuls.

Most of what you spewed has absolutely nothing to do with Dennis Smith jr.

Carlisle has made a career of showing that he has a very low threshold for BS from any player. This includes future HOF, championship winning PGs. If Smith was of such low character, it would be evident by now,

You talk about this young man like you know him intimately, but we're supposed to ignore one of the toughest coaches in the league who says that Smith jr. isnt the cartoon character you make him out to be.

Most of what he spewed is absolute bull****, made up crap. Like he was in the board meeting where CAA said don't touch DSJ.