How Mavericks’ Naji Marshall Extension Indicates Bigger Moves to Come, Including Future of One Big Name

As the calendar flipped to August over the weekend, the Mavericks quietly signed veteran forward Naji Marshall to a contract extension, the first handed out under new team president Masai Ujiri after he was hired in May. Marshall, 28, spent the last two seasons in Dallas as a reliable rotation forward with the defensive chops to guard multiple positions. His new deal will pay him $52.3 million over the next three years.

It isn’t the sort of news that moves the needle league-wide. Marshall is a good player but lacks the three-point shot that would earn him a three-and-D title. The Mavs are a team to watch as Cooper Flagg develops but aren’t going to impact next year’s playoff picture in the West. And while it seems like a fairly rich contract for a player who averaged 15.2 points per night last year, Marshall perfectly fits Ujiri’s preferred profile of long, rangy defenders; the former Raptors GM acquired a seemingly endless number of such players in Toronto. It’s not a big surprise Ujiri likes Marshall and he’ll make for a good vet to have around for Flagg and 2026 lottery pick Morez Johnson Jr.

But this isn’t a piece of business that passes by silently in the night while the rest of the league slumbers in anticipation of the 2026–27 regular season. The Marshall extension will have ramifications in Dallas. It signifies moves yet to come—and, possibly, a decision on the future of one of the roster’s biggest names.

The Mavericks have a logjam at wing

Mavericks wing — Thompson, Marshall and Washington help make up a crowded depth chart in Dallas. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

This was true before the extension, but the Mavs are looking at a pretty severe logjam on the wing. Flagg is obviously the organization’s top priority as the reigning Rookie of the Year who flashed obvious superstar potential in his first campaign—he plays the forward position but in the modern NBA is a “wing” player who operates largely on the perimeter and guards the two-to-four positions. Marshall is the same archetype. Johnson, the No. 9 pick in this year’s draft, profiles to be as well.

That trio makes up a solid rotation on the wing position. But that’s not the end of the depth chart. P.J. Washington is also a wing. As is Zaccharie Risacher, the No. 1 pick in the ‘24 draft who came to Dallas via trade this offseason. Klay Thompson falls into the same category. The future Hall of Famer made his name as a shooting guard but isn’t quick enough to play like one anymore so he ends up operating in the same areas as the other names here.

That makes for six players who, effectively, play the same position. The Mavericks are not going to give them all playing time. Kyrie Irving, Max Christie, Daniel Gafford and Dereck Lively will all demand playing time. Trade acquisition Santi Aldama will get some run, otherwise there would have been no point in acquiring him. And the team’s second first-rounder in ‘26, Sergio De Larrea, showed in Summer League that he can help now and is also in great need of some experience.

That’s a lot of bodies and only so many minutes to go around. The math doesn’t add up. Who will be left out, and what does it mean?

Why Klay Thompson is on the outs in Dallas

Flagg and Johnson were the obvious two candidates to occupy the top of the depth chart at forward, but Marshall’s extension indicates the franchise values him quite a bit—and they paid him enough to believe he’ll be a regular rotation player. Similar to Aldama, Risacher figures to get his opportunities as a successful trade target by Ujiri. Which means there are two players without an obvious fit in Dallas right now—Washington and Thompson.

Washington is starting the first year of a four-year, $88 million extension he signed with the previous Mavericks regime. While he is a better player than Johnson or Risacher right now (and is a much better shooter than Marshall), Ujiri doesn’t seem as invested in keeping him around. If he was, it would have made sense to trade Marshall or even let him walk instead of muddying up Washington’s path to playing time by offering an extension. His established three-and-D skillset means the Mavs could earn a pretty decent return on the trade market if they put him on the block, too.

Thompson, however, seems nearly guaranteed to be on his way out. The 36-year-old scored only 11.7 points per game last year but will make $17.5 million this coming season in the final year of his contract. Between his waning capabilities on both sides of the court, his high salary and Dallas’s timeline as a young team years away from playing meaningful basketball, it makes a lot of sense for Thompson to leave town. A notion confirmed by The Athletic on Monday, when Mavericks reporter Christian Clark said the team tried and failed to find a trade partner for Thompson this offseason, whose future in Dallas is “unclear.”

One way or the other, the Mavs need to clear up that logjam before the season starts. Finding a more optimal roster balance is critical to ensure Flagg’s success, as well as to ease the transition of rookie head coach Dusty May taking on his first campaign in the big leagues. Marshall’s new contract was a flag planted by Ujiri that he is locked in for big minutes this season—and there are only so many to go around.

Washington could be moved. At this point, it seems definite that Thompson will be. Both likely moves that were clarified, if not confirmed, by the front office’s vote of confidence in Marshall.

It’s a great reminder that move in the NBA matters!

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