The Mavericks’ first extension under new team president Masai Ujiri didn’t come with much noise, but it may end up saying plenty about what’s next in Dallas.
Over the weekend, the team locked up veteran forward Naji Marshall on a three-year deal worth $52.3 million. Marshall, 28, has spent the past two seasons as a dependable rotation piece, the kind of long, switchable defender Ujiri has always seemed to gravitate toward.
It’s not a headline-grabbing move on its own, and Marshall doesn’t have the three-point shot that would put him in the three-and-D lane. Still, after averaging 15.2 points per game last season, he clearly fits the mold Ujiri likes, and he should be a useful veteran presence for Cooper Flagg and 2026 lottery pick Morez Johnson Jr.
But this wasn’t just a simple reward for a solid forward. The extension lands in the middle of a roster crunch, and that’s where it starts to matter. Dallas now has a crowded wing group, and the numbers are hard to ignore.
Flagg, the reigning Rookie of the Year, is the obvious centerpiece. Marshall is the same type of player.
Johnson, the No. 9 pick in this year’s draft, also profiles that way. Then there’s P.J.
Washington, Zaccharie Risacher - the No. 1 pick in the ‘24 draft who arrived in Dallas via trade this offseason - and Klay Thompson, who now functions more like a wing than the shooting guard he once was.
That’s six players living in the same neighborhood on the floor, and not nearly enough minutes to satisfy everyone. Kyrie Irving, Max Christie, Daniel Gafford and Dereck Lively all need run.
Santi Aldama, another trade acquisition, is expected to play. And Sergio De Larrea, Dallas’s second first-rounder in ‘26, showed enough in Summer League to suggest he can help now while still needing reps.
Something has to give.
Marshall’s new deal makes one thing clear: Dallas intends to play him. That leaves a couple of uncomfortable questions hanging over the rest of the wing rotation.
Washington is the more complicated case. He’s entering the first year of a four-year, $88 million extension from the previous front office, and he’s already a better player than Johnson or Risacher at this moment.
He’s also a much better shooter than Marshall. But if Ujiri were fully committed to Washington, it would have made more sense to move Marshall or let him walk rather than crowd the depth chart even more.
Washington still has trade value because of his established skill set, so he’s a name to watch.
Thompson feels even more exposed. He’s 36, coming off an 11.7-point-per-game season, and is set to make $17.5 million in the final year of his deal.
With his game declining on both ends and Dallas working on a timeline that’s still years away from meaningful contention, the fit looks increasingly awkward. On Monday, The Athletic reported that the Mavericks tried and failed to find a trade partner for Thompson this offseason, and Christian Clark said his future in Dallas is “unclear.”
However it shakes out, the Mavericks have a logjam they need to solve before the season begins. The front office has to balance the roster around Flagg and make life easier for rookie head coach Dusty May in his first season.
Marshall’s extension was a clear sign that Dallas sees him as part of the plan. The trick now is figuring out who else is.
Washington could be moved. Thompson likely will be. And Marshall’s new contract looks like the kind of decision that helps set those next moves in motion.
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For Dallas, the appeal is not just adding another prospect, but imagining how Risacher could grow in an environment built to give him a clearer lane. The Mavericks see the possibility of a taller, more versatile group taking shape, and that is what makes this deal worth watching: the franchise is betting that a change of scenery can unlock something Atlanta never quite found, even if the full outline of that future is still a little hazy. [Read more 🡒]