The Dallas Mavericks, fresh off an admirable run to the 2024 NBA Finals, are looking to gear up once more as they look to mount another deep playoff run for next season. However, amid their rumored pursuit of Klay Thompson, the Hall of Fame sharpshooter who is departing from the Golden State Warriors via free agency, the Mavericks decided to pivot and sign Naji Marshall to a three year, $27 million deal instead.

Marshall has developed into quite a solid rotation player for the New Orleans Pelicans after spending his entire career to this point (spanning four seasons) in the Big Easy. Last season, the 26-year old small forward averaged 7.1 points. 3.6 rebounds, and 1.9 assists on career-best shooting splits of 46/39/79, and he tallied those numbers despite playing just 19.1 minutes per contest.

It's not quite hard to see why the Pelicans were content with letting Marshall walk. The Pels still have some depth on the wings, what with Brandon Ingram, Herb Jones, and Trey Murphy all deserving of heavy minutes, and the addition of Dejounte Murray has only given the team more options to deploy at the two and the three.

With the Mavs, Naji Marshall figures to play a larger role as someone who could, perhaps, become an even more efficient complementary player alongside Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving. But Marshall makes his living on the defensive end of the floor, which makes him a hand and glove fit for a Mavericks team that has built its championship-level identity on toughness, grit, and hustle.

What does the Naji Marshall signing mean for the Mavericks' other pursuits?

There is not much room for sentimentality when it comes to roster-building in the NBA. The Mavericks' signing of Naji Marshall, according to NBA insider Marc Stein, came as a result of the team “unexpectedly conceding tonight that it likely would not have the wherewithal to retain Derrick Jones Jr.” amid their all-out pursuit of Klay Thompson.

Jones was one of the Mavericks' biggest success stories last season; signed to a minimum deal, Jones earned his keep as a starter and flourished alongside Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving. Jones' athleticism has always been known, as he is a former NBA Slam Dunk champion, but he actually managed to put together those tools and contribute to winning at the highest level, emerging as a lockdown perimeter defender.

Derrick Jones Jr. was the man the Mavericks relied upon to slow down the likes of Paul George, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Anthony Edwards, and he delivered more often than not. In the 2024 NBA Finals, he may have lost his way on the offensive end, but the Mavs would not have made it that far anyway without him.

Could Naji Marshall replicate what Jones did for the Mavericks this past season? The Mavs have certainly earned the benefit of the doubt when it comes to making under-the-radar free-agent signings. At the very least, they are hoping that Marshall could approximate Jones' impact on defense while representing an improvement shooting-wise and ballhandling-wise.

NBA University on Twitter (X) acknowledged that Marshall could be just as disruptive as Jones was on the defensive end; he uses his 7'1 wingspan to great effect, poking the ball loose from ballhandlers while shrinking passing lanes with his length. Marshall also has better feel on the offensive end as a passer, which could provide value for the Mavericks when opponents become more aggressive in their coverages against Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving.

Mavs look to catch lightning in a bottle twice by adding more sharpshooters

In the NBA Finals, it was apparent that the Mavericks did not have enough weapons on the offensive end to keep up with a much-deeper Boston Celtics team. Derrick Jones Jr. and PJ Washington, heroes of the first three rounds, went mostly frigid under the brightest lights imaginable. But the Mavs are looking to rectify the situation.

As sad as it will be for Mavs fans to see Jones depart via free agency, they should hang on to the hope that the team should have more sharpshooters around their star backcourt. Quentin Grimes, if he manages to bounce back from a rough 2023-24 campaign, could be a 3-and-D piece who sticks around in the rotation, while the Mavs have the infrastructure to bring out a potential bounce-back from Klay Thompson.

Thompson's decision in free agency will be crucial; if the Mavericks pull off the addition of Thompson while securing Marshall to replace Jones, it will be difficult to describe their offseason as anything other than a success.