Shortly after being selected by the Dallas Mavericks with the ninth overall pick in Thursday’s NBA Draft, point guard Dennis Smith Jr. made it clear to an ESPN audience that his goal is to become the league’s rookie of the year.
Mavericks’ officials extolled the potential of the North Carolina State product during a Thursday night news conference.
As of Friday morning, Bovada Sports Book listed Smith among its top seven favorites to earn NBA Rookie of the Year honors for the 2017-18 season. Smith received 16-1 odds to claim the award, matching the odds assigned to fellow Thursday draftees Jonathan Isaac (Orlando, No.