Dennis Smith Jr. quietly rejoins Knicks in Dallas, visits with family of slain 13-year-old Shavon Randle
Smith will not play against the Mavericks on Friday night.
1:40 PM on Nov 8, 2019
Former Maverick Dennis Smith Jr. quietly rejoined the Knicks on Thursday, then took part in Friday morning’s shootaround at American Airlines Center, but he will not play against the Mavericks on Friday night.
We say “quietly” because Knicks media relations would not allow Smith to speak to reporters after the shootaround, so it’s unclear how Smith feels about returning to American Airlines Center tonight watch Dallas, the team that drafted and traded him, face the New York team from which he took a leave of absence following the death of his stepmother.
However, a source told
The News a story about Smith that speaks volumes about his character. Soon after arriving in Dallas on Thursday afternoon, Smith checked in on the family of Shavon Randle, the 13-year-old Lancaster seventh-grader who in June of 2017 was kidnapped and murdered.
Last December, realizing that Randle’s family was about to spend its second Christmas without Shavon,
Smith took Randle’s parents and siblings on a surprise shopping spree.
Smith spent time with the family Thursday evening and, according to a source, returned Friday morning to take Randle’s brother and sister to school. Smith returned to the Knicks’ hotel in time to accompany the team to American Airlines Center.
Smith, drafted No. 9 overall by the Mavericks in 2017, was part of the seven-player Jan. 31 trade that brought Kristaps Porzingis to Dallas. He has only appeared in three games this season, averaging eight minutes and one point per game.
Knicks coach David Fizdale said Smith has been working out on his own, but “we didn’t want to risk [playing him tonight], putting him out there in a tough situation.”