For better or worse, the Dallas Mavericks will be in the news plenty over the next four days as we approach the NBA trade deadline. Rumors have surrounded about half the roster so far — but don't expect Naji Marshall to be on the move amid a career year.
According to [NBA insider Marc Stein](https://marcstein.substack.com/p/the-trade-one-year-later) on The Stein Line, the Mavs have been active on the phones recently, but Marshall [(still) probably](https://marcstein.substack.com/p/sunday-best-lots-of-updates-from?utm_campaign=email-post&r=qtt3u&utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email) isn't on the market:
_“I'm told that Dallas does not want to trade Naji Marshall or Christie — who arrived in Dallas alongside Davis — while continuing to explore potential moves involving Daniel Gafford, Klay Thompson and D'Angelo Russell.”_
Not trading Max Christie doesn't come as much surprise. He's 22 years old, on a team-friendly contract, and seems like an obvious candidate to receive a contract extension over the next few years.
Marshall is a bit more of a surprise; he's averaging a career-high 14.6 points per game (and scored over 17 a night in January) and his playmaking would be a boon for a number of contending teams.
But he's also on a team-friendly deal (3 years, $27 million) and Dallas seems to want that production for itself, by rebuffing other teams' attempts at acquiring him. At least for now.
Mavericks have no interest in trading Naji Marshall
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I'm torn on this. On one hand, the Mavericks are 19-30 and not currently in position for any postseason appearance. That's not the position of a team that should be stingy with its role players.
On the other hand, it's okay to have good players on a team, even if the roster isn't champion-caliber. Cooper Flagg is going to be a top-five NBA player within a few years, and flanking him with quality vets to assist his development is undoubtedly better than surrounding him with a lineup of borderline NBA players every night.
Plus, Marshall isn't on an expiring contract. He's signed through next season, a year the Mavericks could conceivably make a playoff push, presuming Kyrie Irving is back in form after returning from a torn ACL.
And that makes sense! If there isn't an offer that blows the Mavs front office away, there's really no reason to rush a Marshall trade. He's playing well and will presumably play a big role on next year's team. Is 1.5 years of a good player more valuable than a future draft pick and salary filler? Probably!
Of course, things are fluid the week of the trade deadline. But this isn't the first time we've heard that the Mavericks love Marshall, so at this point, any deal involving him would come as a minor shock.