Dennis Smith Jr. Said Knicks Had Him Eat Octopus During Predraft Meeting

As his last significant act as New York Knicks team president, Phil Jackson selected Frank Ntilikina with the No. 8 pick in June's NBA draft instead of Dennis Smith Jr. While the French point guard was widely considered a better fit for the triangle offense the Knicks will no longer run, maybe Ntilikina just finished his octopus.            

Smith, chosen a pick later by the Dallas Mavericks, told the New York Daily News' Stefan Bondy that the Knicks coaxed him into trying an unorthodox delicacy at a predraft dinner.                        

"We went out to some restaurant, and they had me eat some octopus, like an actual octopus tentacle," Smith said. "First time ever. I wasn't going to try it, honestly. They kind of put the pressure on me to do it."

A source told Bleacher Report's Yaron Weitzman that Smith, a 19-year-old guard with-off-the charts athleticism, would "likely be a Knick if Jackson had been let go prior to the draft." According to Bondy, Smith thought he might play in Madison Square Garden.

"I definitely thought it was possible," Smith said. "I flew in there, I had a great meeting with them. Then the draft came, and things just changed."

It's yet another odd detail from the disappointing but never dull Jackson era. 

[New York Daily News]