FA: Naji Marshall To DAL | 3yrs/27mil

[dirkfansince1998]

Call me crazy but I don't think Marshall is on this team past the TDL next year.

Just a gut feeling.

Because they throw him into a bigger deal or because he has a Grant Williams like season?

[SleepingHero]

Because they throw him into a bigger deal or because he has a Grant Williams like season?

I just don't think he lives up to the defensive bar that DJJ left. I think his hot shooting will regress a little. I think Grimes is going to look so much better that the Mavs are going to be forced to choose between playing Grimes or Marshall minutes.

Just a bunch of little small things thats giving me the gut feeling that the Mavs are going to move on from Marshall and probably get a little bit more athletic.

Lets see if I'm wrong.

[SkenfromLMF]

If I have a fear it is that Klay will limit Grimes ability to get minutes.

In a perfect world:
Luka 28/Hardy 12
Kyrie 28
Klay 26/Grimes 20 (8-9 at SG)
PJ 28/Naji 18 (9-10 at SF)/OMax 6
Lively 22/Gafford 22/Maxi 10 (4-6 at PF)

I still think that the biggest holes on this team are another PG type creator to take load off of Luka and a PF to keep Maxi limited the issue for finding those role players is that we are discussing 9-11 roles on the team. I do not want Maxi playing a single minute of meaningful time at PF

[YaBoyAplus]

I think you guys are sleeping on Marshall, he's going to be amazing on defense, he's way more physical on both sides of the ball & active with his hands. He may not be as athletic, but he has a 7ft wingspan & is mobile. Really excited for him. Plus everyone gets the Luka bump

[hakeemfaan]

I haven’t paid much attention to him in NO but he seems to move well in space. With Luka and Kyrie that will get you a lot of points. Plus he has a good in between game and the ability to dribble , drive and dunk with his off hand. Seems to play hard as well. What more do you need from a role player?

Hate to see DJJ go though. Josh Green not so much. He was such a tease. Every time you feel he had turned the corner he would go the next few games allergic to the basket. While he tried hard on defense it was not good enough to overcome his offensive issues.

[donzingis38]

I just don't think he lives up to the defensive bar that DJJ left. I think his hot shooting will regress a little. I think Grimes is going to look so much better that the Mavs are going to be forced to choose between playing Grimes or Marshall minutes.

Just a bunch of little small things thats giving me the gut feeling that the Mavs are going to move on from Marshall and probably get a little bit more athletic.

Lets see if I'm wrong.

I'm taking Klay/Grimes/Marshall over DJJ/Tim/Green any day. We got a lot better today.

[Dundalis]

I just don't think he lives up to the defensive bar that DJJ left. I think his hot shooting will regress a little. I think Grimes is going to look so much better that the Mavs are going to be forced to choose between playing Grimes or Marshall minutes.

Just a bunch of little small things thats giving me the gut feeling that the Mavs are going to move on from Marshall and probably get a little bit more athletic.

Lets see if I'm wrong.

The chances of a player shooting worse over a large enough sample size next to Luka is slim IMO, unless there's something fundamentally wrong with your mentality coming in to the team (Grant Williams). We've already seen it with a multitude of players. You will have the most consistently wide open looks of any time in your career.

To me the athleticism thing is slightly overblown. We leant on athleticism particularly on offense partially as a way to make up for just not being a very good shooting team. Its the same thing as NBA fans constantly saying Luka was too unathletic early on. You can make up for it in other ways, and from the looks of it the way Marshall makes up for it is with length and intense physicality defensively. That can 100% make up for lesser athleticism on the defensive end. This team being a top 10 and significantly better shooting team next season is already pretty much guaranteed I would say. Do you wanna keep the athleticism, yeah, but again, if we are just shooting way better as a team, that can make up for whatever added athletic benefit DJJ gave last season. There are plusses and minuses across the board, unfortunately you have to give and take a little, you don't get to tick off every box on acquisitions.

IMO Marshall's last season was significantly better than anything DJJ produced in his career prior to Dallas, and DJJ's season I think was heavily a production of playing with Luka offensively, and Lively and Gafford defensively, DJJ's production was far more them that it was him having some huge mid career improvement. Marshall will get a turn having the massive role boost of playing alongside those guys now. I could see DJJ's shooting and defense fall off a decent amount with the Clippers, especially if hes given an explanded role due to the contract he will get, and the loss of PG.

[Dundalis]

If I have a fear it is that Klay will limit Grimes ability to get minutes.

In a perfect world:
Luka 28/Hardy 12
Kyrie 28
Klay 26/Grimes 20 (8-9 at SG)
PJ 28/Naji 18 (9-10 at SF)/OMax 6
Lively 22/Gafford 22/Maxi 10 (4-6 at PF)

I still think that the biggest holes on this team are another PG type creator to take load off of Luka and a PF to keep Maxi limited the issue for finding those role players is that we are discussing 9-11 roles on the team. I do not want Maxi playing a single minute of meaningful time at PF

I would say not only is Exum coming back, he's getting plenty of minutes next season. Also Im perfectly happy limiting Grimes minutes given the injury he had. Playing Exum too many minutes during that stretch last season was a big reason why he got injured again and wasn't quite the same afterwards. I think we probably now have enough depth that we can do a much better job limiting everyone's minutes that arguably need their minutes managed due to age or health issues. We'll have the season to figure out what to do then come playoff time.

[Razzmatazz_Hopskidillydoo]

 the way Marshall makes up for it is with length and intense physicality defensively. That can 100% make up for lesser athleticism on the defensive end. 

DJJ's a very good honest defender.
Marshall on the other hand, seems like the rough and tumble kind.
One who can get into the skins of their opponents.

Add Naji to an instigator like PJ, -- you then have yourselves a duo that can spark fights.

Doesn't help too when Luka and Klay trash talk.
I'd imagine Booker shutting his mouth when he plays against the Mavs this time.

[audiosway]

I just don't think he lives up to the defensive bar that DJJ left. I think his hot shooting will regress a little. I think Grimes is going to look so much better that the Mavs are going to be forced to choose between playing Grimes or Marshall minutes.

Just a bunch of little small things thats giving me the gut feeling that the Mavs are going to move on from Marshall and probably get a little bit more athletic.

Lets see if I'm wrong.

You are going to be surprised with Marshall. I was thinking earlier today something similar to the Jason Timpf video that Killer posted. Marshall is more of the type of player that moves and can make something out of nothing dribbling. The team last year was essentially creators and finishers. DJJ was a finisher. So, when they go to the finals it broke. Marshall, Grimes, and Klay will help that. I think that's the main reason Dallas moved on from DJJ.

The more I've watched him Marshall is a very good defender. He's big and long. Grimes is an even better defender than him and DJJ. Marshall is also a better shooter and can turn a possession into something with driving or passing also. We obviously won't see it until the season gets going. But, I think Nico just did a massive upgrade on this team.

My projection for next year if everyone stays healthy is a top 3 seed, top 3 defense, top 5 offense and wins the title. Because it's the West I think they will win 55-58.

[The Jom]

If we find out that Marshall is going to start and be backed up by Quentin Grimes, I will be all about this.

But, we’re about to be trying to convince ourselves that Tobias Harris and PJ Washington can play at the same time.

Spoiler alert: NOPE!

Holy shit! This had to be a rough period of time! Fortunate to be in the mountains unable to follow on a minute-to-minute basis!

[SleepingHero]

Holy shit! This had to be a rough period of time! Fortunate to be in the mountains unable to follow on a minute-to-minute basis!

It was a SAD time as soon as Marshall was announced and DJJ was leaving, with no confirmation if Klay would be coming.

[KillerLeft]

Holy shit! This had to be a rough period of time! Fortunate to be in the mountains unable to follow on a minute-to-minute basis!

My brother, anytime Tobias Harris gets brought up on this board is a time much too dark for me.

[mvossman]

The chances of a player shooting worse over a large enough sample size next to Luka is slim IMO, unless there's something fundamentally wrong with your mentality coming in to the team (Grant Williams). We've already seen it with a multitude of players. You will have the most consistently wide open looks of any time in your career.

To me the athleticism thing is slightly overblown. We leant on athleticism particularly on offense partially as a way to make up for just not being a very good shooting team. Its the same thing as NBA fans constantly saying Luka was too unathletic early on. You can make up for it in other ways, and from the looks of it the way Marshall makes up for it is with length and intense physicality defensively. That can 100% make up for lesser athleticism on the defensive end. This team being a top 10 and significantly better shooting team next season is already pretty much guaranteed I would say. Do you wanna keep the athleticism, yeah, but again, if we are just shooting way better as a team, that can make up for whatever added athletic benefit DJJ gave last season. There are plusses and minuses across the board, unfortunately you have to give and take a little, you don't get to tick off every box on acquisitions.

IMO Marshall's last season was significantly better than anything DJJ produced in his career prior to Dallas, and DJJ's season I think was heavily a production of playing with Luka offensively, and Lively and Gafford defensively, DJJ's production was far more them that it was him having some huge mid career improvement. Marshall will get a turn having the massive role boost of playing alongside those guys now. I could see DJJ's shooting and defense fall off a decent amount with the Clippers, especially if hes given an explanded role due to the contract he will get, and the loss of PG.

It depends on whether you are looking at his career average or the small sample of his last season. He prolly will improve on his career average, but it’s a much bigger question if he can improve or maintain his recent year due to regression.

I have a hard time saying Marshall had a better season playing 18 minutes off the bench on mediocre team vs starting on a finals team. Especially since he really struggled prior seasons in bigger role. I think he is a good fit playing role did last season, but I would not have been excited if we were planning on starting him.

[Dundalis]

It depends on whether you are looking at his career average or the small sample of his last season. He prolly will improve on his career average, but it’s a much bigger question if he can improve or maintain his recent year due to regression.

I have a hard time saying Marshall had a better season playing 18 minutes off the bench on mediocre team vs starting on a finals team.  Especially since he really struggled prior seasons in bigger role. I think he is a good fit playing role did last season, but I would not have been excited if we were planning on starting him.

Did you see the minutes DJJ was playing before coming to Dallas? And on a much worse team than the one Marshall was on at that. Curious if you thought there was zero chance of DJJ being a starter when we signed him too.

I have a feeling people will be surprised how little DJJ will bring to the Clippers, and I'm not remotely someone who wishes DJJ anything but the best. This Mavs team has super elevators on offense (Luka) and defense (Lively/Gafford), probably to an extent people don't quite understand yet IMO.

[mvossman]

Did you see the minutes DJJ was playing before coming to Dallas? And on a much worse team than the one Marshall was on at that. Curious if you thought there was zero chance of DJJ being a starter when we signed him too.

I have a feeling people will be surprised how little DJJ will bring to the Clippers, and I'm not remotely someone who wishes DJJ anything but the best. This Mavs team has super elevators on offense (Luka) and defense (Lively/Gafford), probably to an extent people don't quite understand yet IMO.

I had no expectations that DJJ would handle a starting role as well as he did, and feel the same about Marshall. I’m not saying he wouldn’t, but there is not enough evidence to expect it. I would actually have more confidence in Grimes because he has already done it. He was a quality 3&D starter on a playoff team in his second year.

[HoosierDaddyKid]

You are going to be surprised with Marshall. I was thinking earlier today something similar to the Jason Timpf video that Killer posted. Marshall is more of the type of player that moves and can make something out of nothing dribbling. The team last year was essentially creators and finishers. DJJ was a finisher. So, when they go to the finals it broke. Marshall, Grimes, and Klay will help that. I think that's the main reason Dallas moved on from DJJ.

The more I've watched him Marshall is a very good defender. He's big and long. Grimes is an even better defender than him and DJJ. Marshall is also a better shooter and can turn a possession into something with driving or passing also. We obviously won't see it until the season gets going. But, I think Nico just did a massive upgrade on this team.

My projection for next year if everyone stays healthy is a top 3 seed, top 3 defense, top 5 offense and wins the title. Because it's the West I think they will win 55-58.

55-58 wins is a little ambitious, considering the level of good teams in the West, and you have to factor in teams that didn't make the playoffs this year getting better.  And they will drop some games vs the East, who have a few very good teams, plus the champs. Everything is predicated on health, luck, and matchups. They should still be a top 5 team out West.

[Smitty]

55-58 wins is a little ambitious, considering the level of good teams in the West, and you have to factor in teams that didn't make the playoffs this year getting better.  And they will drop some games vs the East, who have a few very good teams, plus the champs. Everything is predicated on health, luck, and matchups. They should still be a top 5 team out West.

I agree and we already have enough evidence now to know that Kidd doesn’t really take the regular season all that serious. 50 wins is still a reasonable goal imo.

[KillerLeft]

I agree and we already have enough evidence now to know that Kidd doesn’t really take the regular season all that serious. 50 wins is still a reasonable goal imo.

I agree that the West will be a bloodbath again, and maybe even tougher sledding than last year, so we shouldn't have any hopes of the Mavs running away with anything. I doubt the win total will approach 60. 

But, regardless of what we think is likely, I hope you're wrong about Kidd (or the team, really) taking the regular season seriously. I get what you're saying, but beating three 50-win teams on the road in the playoffs was brutal. The easiest team to beat was Minnesota, but the other two series could've easily gone the other way. A little more experience from the Thunder or a healthy Kawhi Leonard and we might be in a totally different mood around here this summer. 

Personally, my expectation level is that the Mavs get into the top 4 seeds this season. I don't mean that as in I think they're deserving of that or it will be easy, necessarily, that's just the bar I have for a good regular season. Following up success with improvement is tough, but that's what they'd need to do for me to feel they've made progress. Once they get into the playoffs, things are so dependent on health and matchups that there are scenarios where they lose in the 2nd round or the Conference Finals I might be ok with, but if they're serious I think they need to go hard to get home court in at least the first round.

[Smitty]

I agree that the West will be a bloodbath again, and maybe even tougher sledding than last year, so we shouldn't have any hopes of the Mavs running away with anything. I doubt the win total will approach 60. 

But, regardless of what we think is likely, I hope you're wrong about Kidd (or the team, really) taking the regular season seriously. I get what you're saying, but beating three 50-win teams on the road in the playoffs was brutal. The easiest team to beat was Minnesota, but the other two series could've easily gone the other way. A little more experience from the Thunder or a healthy Kawhi Leonard and we might be in a totally different mood around here this summer. 

Personally, my expectation level is that the Mavs get into the top 4 seeds this season. I don't mean that as in I think they're deserving of that or it will be easy, necessarily, that's just the bar I have for a good regular season. Following up success with improvement is tough, but that's what they'd need to do for me to feel they've made progress. Once they get into the playoffs, things are so dependent on health and matchups that there are scenarios where they lose in the 2nd round or the Conference Finals I might be ok with, but if they're serious I think they need to go hard to get home court in at least the first round.

Preach! I agree with every word. I didn’t mean to say I’m okay with Kidd not taking the regular season, just that it’s what the evidence suggests.