The free agency period for the NBA began on Sunday as multiple teams around the league began signing players in hopes of improving their rosters, with the Dallas Mavericks signing a single player to help contribute to the team in the 2024-2025 season.
Shortly after the signing period began at 5 p.m., Dallas signed forward Naji Marshall to a three-year contract worth $27 million, as reported by Adrian Wojnarowski.
Marshall is coming off one of his best seasons in the league. In 66 appearances, he played 19 minutes per game and scored an average of 7.1 points.
The most crucial part of Marshall’s game for the Mavericks is his ability to shoot behind the three-point line. He made 38.7% of his attempts while taking an average of 2.3 per game.
Dallas was also seeking another role player who could handle the ball in the half-court offense, a trait Marshall has shown many times during his stint with the New Orleans Pelicans.
Marshall’s contract was signed slightly before forward Derrick Jones Jr., who played a pivotal role in the Mavericks’ run to the NBA Championship, opted to sign with the Los Angeles Clippers on a three-year contract worth $30 million.
Dallas general manager Nico Harrison had previously discussed the possibility that Jones would leave the organization in free agency, saying that he would be “priority 1A and 1B,” as The Dallas Express previously reported.
The Mavericks will now begin to look at other options on the market, as the team has been linked to guard Klay Thompson.
The Golden State Warriors guard is widely expected to sign with a new organization. According to Adrian Wojnarowski, he scheduled discussions with the Mavericks, Clippers, Philadelphia 76ers, and Los Angeles Lakers.
However, the 76ers’ signing of forward Paul George to a four-year, $212 million maximum contract likely means the organization will be unable to create the necessary salary cap space to offer Thompson a contract, leaving the Mavericks, Clippers, and Lakers as the three teams with the best path to sign the guard.
Other names linked to the Mavericks include forwards Tobias Harris and Marcus Morris, who could each provide a scoring ability that the team seemed to lack at times when guards Kyrie Irving or Luka Doncic were not on the court.
