DALLAS — Dirk Nowitzki backed the Dallas Mavericks‘ decision to extend Naji Marshall on Monday, in a phone interview with Mike Curtis of The Dallas Morning News.
Nowitzki’s read on the roster starts with the mix around Kyrie Irving and Cooper Flagg, two scorers who will have the ball in their hands.
“He’s going to have veteran leadership around him. Kyrie [Irving’s] coming back after a year off. P.J. Washington, a local guy,” Nowitzki said.
“They extended Naji [Marshall], which I thought was well deserved,” Nowitzki continued. “He had a great year last year. He was a bright spot over weeks and months there at a time.”
Dallas announced the extension on Sunday, Aug. 2. The fully guaranteed three-year deal is worth $52.2 million and runs through 2029-30, an average of $17.4 million a season. President of basketball operations Masai Ujiri said in a statement that Marshall has earned this opportunity through the way he approaches the game every day.
Naji Marshall’s Contract Terms
Marshall’s salary drops each year of the extension, according to Marc Stein: $18.2 million in 2027-28, $17.3 million in 2028-29 and $16.7 million in 2029-30. Because of the way the deal is structured, Marshall can be traded immediately instead of becoming subject to a six-month restriction.
He plays this season on $9.4 million, the final year of the three-year, $27 million contract he signed with Dallas in the 2024 offseason under former general manager Nico Harrison. Marshall wears No. 3 this season after wearing No. 13.
Dallas had 16 standard contracts after the extension, one more than it can carry into the regular season. The Mavericks bought out Klay Thompson on Aug. 21. He later signed a two-year deal with the Miami Heat.
Marc Stein reported that Marshall’s relationship with Flagg factored into Dallas’ decision on the extension. Flagg talked in February about the amount of time he and Marshall had spent on the floor together and the trust that came from it.
Naji Marshall’s Career-Best Season
Marshall, 28, appeared in 74 games and started 47, a career high. He averaged 15.2 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 3.3 assists in 29.5 minutes, and shot 51.0% from the field. Points, assists, field goal percentage, steals, and minutes were all career bests.
His production works out to 18.6 points, 5.7 rebounds and 4.0 assists per 36 minutes.
Marshall reached 30 points six times last season. He had done it only twice in his career before that. Dallas also used him as a point guard at times, with his floater becoming one of the shots he went to regularly.
The outside shot remained a weakness. Marshall hit 29.1% of his 3-pointers on 2.9 attempts per game. Only three NBA teams made fewer threes than Dallas last season.
P.J. Washington played 56 games and averaged 14.2 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 1.8 assists. He signed a four-year, $88 million deal last offseason.
Marshall went undrafted out of Xavier in 2020 and spent four seasons with the New Orleans Pelicans before signing in Dallas. Irving missed all of last season with a torn ACL in his left knee.
Dallas finished 26-56 and opens training camp before Sept. 29. The Mavericks play the Houston Rockets on Oct. 9 and Oct. 11 at The Venetian Arena in Macau, China, in the NBA Global Games.
