Ian Begley parsed an excellent interview by Chris Henderson with Dennis Smith Jr. over at SNY.
The key quote is Smith talking about how important it is for him to help RJ Barrett win Rookie of the Year, “I’m treating that as one of my focal points just to help him win Rookie of the Year. And whatever I can do, I’m willing to do it. It’s important for us and it’s important for our team and it’s important for our morale moving forward, so I think it would be major if he won that.”
Smith also acknowledged the chip on his shoulder from the Porzingis trade, “I feel like I’ve got something to prove, chip on my shoulder still. So I’ve just been working, man. I try to attack every day and look at it as if I didn’t leave anything on the table, I got the most out of every day. That’s how I’ve been attacking each day this summer and so far it’s been paying off for me so I’m going to keep that going, bring it in to training camp and be a leader. Lead by example, earn my respect with these guys and then carry that into the season.”
Good stuff. It probably doesn’t mean anything, but hey, better to hear it than not hear it, right?