LAS VEGAS — The Dennis Smith Jr. the Nets are getting is an entirely different version than the one the Knicks saw.
He entered the league — and the Garden — as an offensive-minded lottery pick.
But years, injuries and tough times have matured him.
Now Brooklyn is getting a defensive-minded, minimum-salary player, a reclamation project fighting for every minute he gets on the court — and happy to do it.
“Way different,” Smith said at the Nets’ summer league win Sunday over his former team. “I’m mature, I got better every year, I learned something every year. I’m thankful for everything that’s happened to me since I’ve been in the league because I wouldn’t be the player or person I am today. So it’s like night and day, damn near.”
Smith, who said the Nets called him on the first day of the free-agency period, inked a one-year, $2,528,233 guaranteed deal, and has a chance to carve out a role.
Spencer Dinwiddie is the unquestioned starter at point guard.
But Ben Simmons was shut down last season with a bad back and a nerve impingement, his ongoing recovery keeping him out of next month’s FIBA World Cup.
The Nets pushed back the date to guarantee Edmond Sumner’s contract guarantee to July 15 and haven’t seemed to trust Cam Thomas.
Will all three contribute? None? Answer that and it may determine whether Smith plays a huge role, a small one or none at all.
“I’m going to have to come in and earn my minutes like everybody else. That’s on par with my brand. Ain’t nothing been given to me. So I’m looking forward to that,” said Smith, adding he looked at the roster and saw opportunity.
“Yep, I had thought about that a couple of weeks before I had a call with them. So my excitement was matching theirs whenever they were on a call with me, so it’s a place I can see myself at and it worked out perfectly.”
Smith was a top-10 pick in 2017 and joined the Knicks from Dallas in the Kristaps Porzingis trade.
He played well in 21 games — all but three of them starts — averaging 14.7 points and 5.4 assists.
But it was the next season when things went awry in the Garden.
The point guard dealt with back injuries and inconsistent play that was made worse by the death of his stepmother and boos from the Garden crowd.
But in the years since, bouncing from Detroit to Portland to Charlotte, he’s recast himself as a defensive player.
“It actually started a little bit before Charlotte. It’s a lot of film study,” said Smith. “And just having my minutes taken away from me, just trying to figure out different ways to get on the court, impact the game whenever my role decreased. So a lot of film study, check my ego at the door and it’s worked out for me.”
Smith has taken positives from the negatives, missing the final 19 games in 2020-21 with a knee injury, then suffering a UCL injury in 2021-22 in Portland.
He learned to defend and it fits Brooklyn’s new DNA.
“I feel like we’ve got a good group of guys. We’re not too young, not too old, and I don’t think it’s gonna be an ego problem for our team this year. Everybody sounds like they’re committed to winning and playing the right way,” said Smith, reunited with former Dallas teammate Dorian Finney-Smith on a Nets unit that should defend well.
“That’s why the choice was kind of easy for me. Like I said, everything that they have going on with the guys they have was just on brand with how I see the game and how I want to play.”