ESPN rates Dallas Mavericks’ signings of Klay Thompson and Naji Marshall

The Dallas Mavericks made some major changes to their roster this offseason, cutting Tim Hardaway Jr. and Josh Green and releasing Derrick Jones Jr. in free agency. However, they brought in Quentin Grimes, Klay Thompson and Naji Marshall to fill those spots.

Mavericks fans are excited about the additions, especially the arrival of future Hall-of-Famer Thompson, but what did basketball analysts think of the deal? ESPN’s Kevin Pelton has reviewed all the big contracts in NBA free agency so far and given reasons, including the additions of Thompson and Marshall to the Mavericks. Here’s what he had to say.

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Naji Marshall, 3 years, $27 million: B

The reigning Western Conference champions will look a little different on the wing next season after adding Marshall with the tax-free midlevel exception they should have used to re-sign incumbent small forward Derrick Jones Jr.

“Give Dallas credit for not overvaluing Jones, because he was such a success story when he played on the veteran minimum last season. The Mavericks got a career campaign out of Jones, whose move into the starting lineup helped spark the second half of the revival that ultimately led them to the NBA Finals. But Dallas would rightly wonder whether Jones could maintain that value over the life of a four-year contract.

“A lot of Jones’ NBA success has been tied to his vertical, and at 27, he’s reaching a point where his physical ability is starting to decline. Jones could do well, especially if he can maintain the 37% 3-point shooting we saw in last year’s playoffs (up from 34% during the regular season), but Dallas couldn’t count on Jones to remain a lob threat in transition and as a cutter going forward.

“Marshall is only a year younger, but has shown more skill in battling his way from undrafted rookie to key backup for the New Orleans Pelicans. Marshall also enjoyed a banner year in 2023-24 from beyond the arc, but his 3-point percentage dropped all the way to 39%. Marshall’s solid free throw shooting (78% career, compared to 71% for Jones) gives reason to believe he can remain average or better going forward.

“Defensively, Marshall isn’t as strong on the ball as Jones, who excelled in that role during the Mavericks’ playoff run. Along with All-Defensive first-team pick Herb Jones, Marshall hasn’t been tasked with guarding top scorers as often, and a downgrade on that end of the floor is the biggest risk Dallas is taking here.

“That said, bringing in Marshall for an average of $9 million per year — about 70% of the non-tax midlevel — is an excellent value. And it could open up the possibility that the Mavericks could add Thompson as well. Adding Marshall would cap Dallas hard on the lower luxury tax bracket. (Re-signing Jones using the non-tax midlevel would have done the same.) Currently, the Mavericks are about $5.8 million below that cap, including the non-guaranteed salary of wing AJ Lawson.”

Klay Thompson, 3 years, $50 million: B-

“To acquire Thompson, the Mavericks would have to agree to a three-team sign-and-trade with the Golden State Warriors that would see Dallas winger Josh Green go to the Charlotte Hornets. Pending the completion of that deal, let’s take a look at how Thompson fits in.

“After shooting just 32 percent from 3-point range during their five-game NBA Finals loss to the Boston Celtics, the Mavericks made bold moves this offseason to ensure that doesn’t happen again. Adding Thompson, who ranks sixth in league history in 3s made, is by far the biggest and most compelling move for Dallas.

“We’ve never seen Thompson play for anyone other than the Warriors, a 13-year streak — including two full seasons lost to injuries — that resulted in five All-Star appearances and four NBA championships. The last of those came in 2021-22, after Thompson returned from a torn ACL followed by a ruptured Achilles midseason, a combination largely unprecedented in NBA history. Yet Thompson still averaged 19.0 PPG in the playoffs en route to the title.

“Thompson hasn’t been the same type of defender since his return, and his occasional shot selection errors became a bigger source of friction last season. For the first time since his rookie season, Thompson came off the bench after last season’s All-Star break. Ultimately, Thompson and Golden State parted ways, putting the Mavericks in position to strike via sign-and-trade.

“It will be interesting to see if Dallas views Thompson as a starter on the wing. He’s getting more money than fellow newcomer Naji Marshall, who agreed to a three-year, $27 million contract on Sunday to fill the role of incumbent Mavericks small forward Derrick Jones Jr. Starting Thompson would maximize floor space for Dallas stars Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving at the expense of the defense.

“The Mavericks want to hide Doncic as much as possible defensively, and while Irving was strong individually during Dallas’ run to the Finals, it’s unreasonable to ask him to defend top scorers during the regular season. Thompson is no longer capable of being a primary wing defender, which would suggest Marshall would be a better fit in the starting five with Thompson as the sixth man.

“However the Mavericks line up to start games, coach Jason Kidd will have plenty of options. With Thompson replacing Green, Marshall replacing Jones and Quentin Grimes traded for Tim Hardaway Jr., Dallas will have 11 rotation-caliber players with a variety of strengths and weaknesses. Grimes and Dante Exum give Kidd strong defense off the bench, while Hardy and Thompson will bolster the team’s offense. The depth should help the Mavericks manage the regular season while Kidd figures out the best rotations for the playoffs.

“Ultimately, Dallas made up for all those Finals missed 3s in pursuit of Thompson. With Boston able to stay home on wing shooters and contain Doncic and Irving 1-on-1, the Mavericks neither got enough 3-point attempts (they attempted just 27 in any of the first three games, all losses) nor made enough of the shots they attempted.

“Thompson’s contested 3-point shooting will be a huge upgrade for Dallas. According to Second Spectrum tracking, Thompson shot the 10th-best 3-point percentage (39%) among players with at least 500 attempts on the sixth-hardest shot diet among those 26 players. Based on Second Spectrum’s quantified shot quality metric, we expected the average shooter to make just 34% of Thompson’s 3-point attempts due to their location, shot type and distance from nearby defenders.

“I still wonder what the cost to the Mavericks’ defense is. Going from Jones and Green as primary perimeter defenders to Marshall and Thompson is a huge drop that is only partially offset by the addition of Grimes.

“If Thompson ends up finishing games at small forward alongside one of Dallas’ two strong centers (Daniel Gafford and Dereck Lively II), it will likely force P.J. Washington to defend wings with size. Washington struggled in that role before finding more success defending power forwards and occasionally cross-matching with centers when Jones entered the Mavericks’ starting lineup after the All-Star break.

“Adding Thompson certainly makes Dallas a more interesting team, but I’m not entirely convinced it will make the Mavericks any better.”

Overall, Pelton likes the addition of Thompson and Marshall, but he’s not sure the Mavs are a better team than they were in the Finals. Everyone has wondered what Dallas’ defense will look like in the regular season, but it was the addition of Daniel Gafford and PJ Washington to the starting lineup that gave the Mavs defense a boost last season.

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