The Dallas Mavericks have inked a deal to sign former Pelicans forward Naji Marshall on a three-year, $27 million contract, as reported by Adrian Wojnarowski.
Free agent F Naji Marshall has agreed on a three-year, $27 million deal with the Dallas Mavericks, sources tell ESPN. pic.twitter.com/KlICsYvVyc
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 1, 2024
Marshall was a solid rotational player on the Pelicans, averaging 7.1 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 1.9 assists last season. Due to their depth at the forward positions, Marshall struggled to carve out a defined role ahead of Brandon Ingram, Herb Jones, and Trey Murphy III. The Mavericks will hope his 38.7% shooting continues when he gets open looks created by Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving.
The Mavericks are still expected to pursue Klay Thompson heavily, hoping to work out a sign-and-trade with the Golden State Warriors. The Mavericks have a $16.9 million trade exception from the Tim Hardaway Jr. trade and have saved over $3 million from their non-tax mid-level exception.
A deal including no returning player to the Warriors will be hard to envision, so the Mavericks have salary flexibility to make more deals using their trade exceptions and a contract like Josh Green or Maxi Kleber.
What Does This Mean For Derrick Jones Jr?
The only notable free agent from the Mavericks’ 2024 NBA Finals roster was starting small forward Derrick Jones Jr., who became a free agent after signing a minimum contract with the Mavericks last year. After the team traded away Tim Hardaway Jr. to get under the luxury tax, many assumed it was to open up money to re-sign DJJ, who excelled as the team’s POA defender.
With the Mavericks not having more than $5 million to offer DJJ as salary right now, it seems he is guaranteed to be on a new team next season. This is a quick turnaround in the team’s direction, as GM Nico Harrison told reporters that bringing Jones Jr. back was their No. 1 priority in the offseason.
DJJ switched agents this week, joining Klutch Sports and leaving longtime agents xxx, who encouraged Jones to join the Mavericks last summer. NBA rules dictate that Jones Jr. waits 15 days after an agency change before negotiating a new contract. This means he would be unavailable to the Mavericks until July 11, far too long in free agency for them to hold onto their non-tax exception for other candidates to be snatched up with the possibility that DJJ also leaves.
Jones had made it clear he wanted to return to the Mavericks as well, so this sudden pivot likely caught him by surprise as well. Marshall could be an upgrade over Jones due to his two-way ability coming with far more consistent offensive production, but replicating the incredible perimeter defense DJJ played last season will be a challenge.
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