Dennis Smith Jr. was asked to undergo a physical exam by the New York Knicks leading to the draft. Smith declined and the sides called off their scheduled workout.

“The Knicks were forcing me to do a couple things that were already established that I wasn’t going to do,” Smith told Yahoo Sports. “I was uncomfortable with them. I felt comfortable here in Dallas. They did a good job making me feel like I was already a player here. People think that I just dipped out of the Knicks workout because I didn’t want the Knicks to take me, but no.

“It wasn’t over that … but they kept insisting on the physical. I knew it would be a no go.”

One day before the draft, the Knicks asked if Smith would agree to undergo a last-second workout. At that point, Smith and his camp had preferred the Dallas Mavericks.

“The vibe was different in Dallas to me,” Smith told Yahoo Sports. “The Knicks have some good guys on their staff, but the situation with them was funky at the time.”

New York eventually picked Frank Ntilikina ahead of Smith.