Dennis Smith Jr. will remain a part of the 2021-22 Portland Trail Blazers roster as Portland has guaranteed his contract for the remainder of the season. The deadline to ensure NBA contracts is Monday, January 10th, but the waiver process moved it to today, January 7th, by default. The news came in a tweet from Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
Smith is on a single-year, veteran’s minimum deal that will pay him $1.8 million this season. He earned the contract by outplaying other reserve point guards in Portland’s training camp and pre-season games last fall.