New York Knicks: Stock up, stock down for players on March 14

Dennis Smith Jr.: Stock Down

Slash Line since March 1: .393/.286/.538
Averages since March 1: 13.2 PPG, 2.7 RPG, 4.8 APG, 1.2 SPG, 0.5 BPG, 2.8 TPG, 1.0 3PM

Dennis Smith Jr. was red-hot after the trade that brought him to the New York Knicks. Within his first two weeks, the 21-year-old dropped a few 20-point games and even a double-double. All seemed positive and a step above what he did in Dallas.

However, March has taken a downward spin for Smith. With 13.2 points per game on just 28.6 percent shooting on three-pointers, he’s playing similarly to the inefficiency shown with the Mavericks in 2017-18, while the numbers pre-trade were trending up.

The poor performances have caught up to Smith’s playing time lately, as his minutes dropped from 37 to 32, 28 and 25 over the past four games, respectively. Although Emmanuel Mudiay has struggled since his productive run off the bench, post-injury, so the 2017 draft pick should have an inside track on starting moving forward.

Continued play like this could throw the Knicks’ point guard plans into the air. They will have a high draft pick in June, and Ja Morant is the top distributor available. Kemba Walker and Kyrie Irving will also hit free agency this summer and are upgrades over the young, inexperienced Smith.

There are 14 games left to redeem this stretch, but if it becomes the last thing New York sees before the offseason, will they make a change at point guard, again?