SACRAMENTO - Dennis Smith Jr. has a surprise.
More accurately, a surprise guest.
He said Friday that he'll be joined during the Verizon Slam Dunk Contest at All-Star weekend by someone who will serve as his second.
"It'll be a big surprise," he said.
He was not in a divulgatory mood about who that guest would be, but we can throw out a few ideas.
How about J. Cole, the rapper from Smith's hometown of Fayetteville, N.C., and with whom he is close friends?
Or maybe Michael Finley, the last Maverick to compete in the dunk contest, way back in 1997, the year Smith was born?