The Dallas Mavericks signed a $27 million impact player, per Adrian Wojnarowski. On Sunday, they reportedly agreed on a three-year, $27 million deal with unrestricted free agent Naji Marshall.
Mavericks Sign $27 Million Impact Player
Marshall, a four-year NBA veteran, has spent his entire career with the New Orleans Pelicans. He will join the Mavericks, who are looking to return to the NBA Finals as soon as possible. Last season, the 26-year-old appeared in 66 games. He averaged 7.1 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 1.9 assists in 19 minutes per game. He had a career-high effective field goal percentage of 54.2% last season. Marshall often found ways to impact the game as a Pelican in limited minutes of action.
Marshall’s agent, Derek Jackson of UNLTD Sports Group, closed the deal with general manager Nico Harrison to move him from New Orleans to Dallas. He is set to have a sizable role on the Mavericks following Derrick Jones Jr.’s signing with the Clippers.
Potential Fit
Marshall is not as athletic as Jones Jr. (few people are, to be honest), but he provides more reliable spacing, at least potentially. He had a career year shooting the three, averaging 38.7% on 2.3 attempts per game. It is a very small sample size. For his career, he is averaging a measly 31.3% from distance. He’s by no means a flamethrower, but he still figures to be an upgrade.
Being signed on a team-friendly $9 million-a-year contract gives the Mavericks some flexibility. They are adding a versatile wing who will be under contract during his prime. They can dangle him in trades even if the move doesn’t pan out for the team. His salary will be easy to aggregate with other contracts to match a bigger contract in a trade, or he could be traded for another asset. His contract number is a pretty common number for role players around the league.
The Mavericks will look to make another addition with what’s left of their cap space. After moving on from Tim Hardaway Jr., they have turned that expiring contract into two young role players in Quentin Grimes and Marshall. Dallas has been strongly linked with Klay Thompson in recent days. It’s a solid sign-and-trade possibility. As it stands, this deal probably puts them just below the first apron. That means the Mavericks still have access to their annual mid-level exceptions. They can use $12.9 million to sign another player and be below the punitive second apron.
