As Detroit Pistons president of basketball operations Trajan Langdon approaches the 2026 NBA trade deadline this week, he may look toward players he has familiarity with when trying to bolster the team’s East-leading roster.
Adding to the list of players the Pistons have been linked to in the build up to Thursday’s deadline, Detroit has reportedly inquired about wing Naji Marshall of the Dallas Mavericks, according to ClutchPoints’ Brett Siegel.
The 28-year-old has had a real career surge since joining the Mavericks in 2024. Injuries to the rotation opened him up to take on a larger role in their offense and he’s posted career numbers since.
This season, Marshall is averaging a career best 14.6 points and five rebounds per game in about 29 minutes of play. He’s also dishing out nearly three assists and a steal per game. Shooting 53.8% from the field, 30.4% from deep and 77.2% from the foul line, he’s got some flexibility with how he could potentially help Detroit’s offense.
In January, where Marshall started 12 of 14 games for Dallas, he averaged 17.5 points, 5.4 rebounds and 3.9 assists while shooting 54.3%/27%/70.3%.
The threes don’t always fall, but Marshall offers some outside threat while being a solid ball handler and strong finisher, particularly on floaters. Standing 6-foot-6 but with a 7-foot-1 wingspan, Marshall’s also a disruptive defender who brings energy on both ends of the court.
Langdon — then the New Orleans Pelicans general manager — was the one to sign Marshall on a two-way contract after going undrafted in 2020 out of Xavier. He earned his first standard contract in May 2021.
Marshall never quite took off with the Pelicans and wasn’t re-signed following Langdon’s move to the Pistons in 2024. Now that Marshall has proven his bona fides as a meaningful contributor in the NBA, Langdon could look to bring him to Detroit.
The Los Angles Lakers, New York Knicks and Boston Celtics have also inquired about Marshall, according to Siegel. The Mavericks are rumored to have a high asking price of a first-round draft pick to net Marshall.
The Pistons might be the best-suited team to go for that kind of deal, given they currently hold their next seven first-round picks. Marshall is under contract through next season with a nearly $9.5 million salary for 2026-27.
Given Detroit has a $14.1 million traded player exception from their sign-and-trade with the Sacramento Kings for Dennis Schroder over the summer, the Pistons wouldn’t need to trade a player to Dallas to make the deal work.
They would need to waive someone in order to make room on the 15-man active roster if a player wasn’t going back to the Mavericks in a potential deal.
While the Pistons are positioned to make a big move if they desired, their front office has often preached a focus on their big-picture plans to make Detroit a regular contender in the NBA.
They have a young core to build around and were happy to add around the margins during free agency and last year’s trade deadline. Marshall could be a similar addition, who offers plenty of firepower to a Detroit offense that’s lagging just behind it’s elite defense.