This video looks at the Dallas Mavericks and how Naji Marshall is just as good of a free agent signing as Klay Thompson is to pair with Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving
THJ sadly became very trash. True he would still have those games when he went on heaters but they were very far and few between. Not to mention his poor decision making and subpar defense. Most Mavs fans thank him for his service but are happy to see him go
@thebekgo1624 Tim couldn't shoot off the dribble. He was a better spot up shooter but even those he would miss. And many turnovers in which he would go out of control going to the rim with no plan. That lead to SMH moments 🤦
Klay is definitely starting. But he also knows hes got two (maybe three with Omax) dogs nipping at his heels if he becomes a real defensive liability. From his press conference he seems super motivated and im optimistic as a Mavs fan
Hes a starter but he wont share the floor with wings, most of the time he will be at 2 with either luka or kyrie and will be a closer. 3 would be for Grimes and Marshall 4 Pj and Maxi 5 Lively Gafford
Naji ain't starting. I can't imagine Klay chooses Dallas if they don't project him as the starter. In a world without egos Klay has a real shot at 6 man of the year.
Those 10 shot misses was because he was done. When you’re not happy you will not be as focused. Sometimes you gotta move on to get a fresh breath of air.
they promised klay to be a starter, and I used to hate it but now that i'm thinking about it, it's not bad, derrick jones jr was a mid defender before pj and gafford which pj is the real defender, we'll be good defensively
I wouldn’t say he was mid. He’s just a very good on ball wing defender, but having defensive anchors/versatile bigs that protect the paint is necessary for anyone’s one on one defensive skills to lead to successful team defense. DJJ was clearly better than Klay defensively but the idea is Klay is still okay as a defender and is light years better than DJJ offensively.
Klay is still an above average defender, i do think he starts but like you said they are gonna stagger his minutes with Kyrie & Luka. Come play-off time adjutments are going to be made depending on the matchup
We'll have to wait and see but I wouldn't be surprised if Naji and Klay are starting and PJ comes off the bench. Klay can guard the #4 as well as Washington and Naji slides into that DJJ role.
Thompson will start. I am sure one of the reasons he signed for less was the guaranteed starting spot. Dont forget that it was a big problem last year when he got benched. So at least this season I am sure he will still be the starting SF. But that doesnt mean he will play 30+ minutes. I am sure he will be subbed out very early in games (after 4-5 minutes) for either Marshall or Grimes. Then they will stagger the "Big 3" for the rest of the game. In general I am a bit suprised you didnt talk about Grimes at all. He is way more likely to take over the backup SG/SF spot that Green had. He is also a very good defender and also a good volume 3P shooter. If I am not mistaken he even defended the top opponents scorer the most posessions out of all players in the 2022/23 season. But I agree on O-Max. I really hope he can take the next step and take over Maxi's role at the end of the season, the start of next season. I dont think his 42.5% on over 5 3's in the G-League is translatable to the NBA. But if he can shoot 36%-38% he should be able to provide basically everything that Maxi does. The problem I see is finding consistent minutes for Hardy, if the team is healthy. Even in the reg Season. Luka 34 min, Kyrie 34 min, Thompson 28 min, Grimes 20 min, Marshall 20 min... means only 8 minutes left for Hardy (offense) or Exum (defense)... thats not much... Overall the team got clearly better on offense and shouldnt be worse on defense. Yes, Thompson isnt the All Defense PoA defender he was anymore. But he also isnt a complete coam. If his role on offense is reduced and doesnt need constant moving and running, he should have some more energy on defense as well. Means he should clearly be better then THJ, the guy he will replace. And with Grimes/Marshall we have 2 very good defensive wings coming of the bench as well. Both are not worse defensively then DJJ and Green were.
I think Klays minutes should vary based on the opponent they are facing and what is working in that particular game. They have enough pieces to use Klay or not use Klay when it makes sense, regardless of him starting or not (he will start).
@@backyardbuckets829klay isn’t a bad defender by any means, he’s not the best at defending quick guards but is quite good vs the 4. With an actual centre and him dribbling running less conserves energy for him to play defence.
@@backyardbuckets829 luka, Ky, Klay, pj, lively.. naji first off the bench for klay, klay will come back in with the second unit ran by kyrie to give another scoring option, yes we will lack defense possibly but hopefully klay shooting can offset it, we’ll just have to out gun some teams
Yeah probably will play like a 15 year career max which puts him around 35 years old at retirement. Which is totally reasonable, especially for someone who plays as physical as him. Not everyone can be a Lebron.
@@kukucal.6337 I feel like he’s in his prime. I think he hit his prime last last season by leveling up even though they didn’t make the playoffs, and then this past season he was in his full prime. I expect he can stay in his prime and put up similar numbers until he’s around 30 and then will probably decline slowly until he retires. Any major injuries though could definitely change that timeline. Who knows.
@@kukucal.6337 I think many players can stay in their prime till they’re like 32-33 and some even up to 35, but Lukas long career and physical play makes me think his decline starts around 30. The speed of that decline, who knows. All just speculation. I hope he can get some rings but realistically Kyrie is entering his non-prime soon and his numbers may decline, his defense isn’t stellar so if his offense declines he won’t be a net plus on the court anymore. They can use his massive salary to improve the team once he’s gone but they need to win in the next few years with Kyrie. They blew it by not keeping Brunson, he would have filled the role of Kyrie for the longterm and for cheaper. That was a costly error if it was in their power to keep Brunson, which it’s not clear that it was depending on if you believe Brunson and his dad or you believe Marc Cuban.
What I do like about Nba nowadays is that a possible 8 teams can win it all instead of 4 teams. I got the Warriors winning in 2024-2025. Oklahoma is going to be dangerous. Dallas has improved. Warriors have improved and will get Lauri Markkanen mark my words!! Clippers are gonna suck. Lakers are going to suck. Phoenix has not improved nor has a deep bench!! Philadelphia is going need time to gel, so there out of it!! King's have improved, but they are a small market team that I don't see King's as a serious contender. Portland irrelevant. Utah irrelevant. Nets irrelevant. Knicks, Boston, Indiana and Milwaukee in the East!! Warriors, Dallas, Oklahoma Minnesota and Nuggets in the west!! Warriors 5th Ring with Lauri Markkanen!!
Unpopular opinion:I’d start Naji Marshall over PJ Washington.Hear me out Marshall shot 7% better from 3pt and his defense highlights are actually wild.Marshall is a better fit in the starting lineup since he’s a better 3 point shooter and perimeter defender than PJ.I think PJ and Marshall should have identical minutes and swap when one goes to the bench kind of like how Gafford and Lively have been doing.
As a Mavs fan I rather have klay off the bench n I absolutely love klay but I want to see how Naji meshes as a starter. I truly think klay can blossom as a 6th man n still average 17+ on great efficiency. I just rather have marshall start the game for the defense and then klay starts the 4th quarter. Ik it won't happen but that's the best bet
You don’t pay that much money for him to come off the bench…and if you klay you don’t leave golden state to come off the bench for all that you could have stayed lol
Well when the Warriors benched Klay it was because the starters were losing the minutes with him, the Mavs however have always lost minutes when Luka wasn’t on the floor & won minutes with him on the floor. Plus, FT shooting is such a dumb thing to point to when there are several current stars & past all time greats far worse than Luka at FTs. Defense is the only somewhat valid point, but offense is much more important in the NBA.
@@JRMason-ri4ii that’s not true, games strictly with Kyrie and without Luka the Mavs are 7-4 according to StatMuse. Since Kyrie joined the team Luka has averaged roughly 23 field goal attempts. If they have a 7-4 record without him that means Jason Kidd is finding ways to get equally efficient buckets out of others, or those that are replacing Luka isn’t allowing as many points to be scored on them as he does.
THJ wasn´t a loss at all. Green and DJJ were contributing much more than THJ
He did win a playoff game in the OKC series and stepped up a lot before the trade deadline.... but grimes is still an improvement.
THJ sadly became very trash. True he would still have those games when he went on heaters but they were very far and few between. Not to mention his poor decision making and subpar defense. Most Mavs fans thank him for his service but are happy to see him go
@dpend fr. At the start of the season he was good, but as the season went on, his true self came over.
@@dpend subpar defense is undercutting it, he legit one of the worst defenders in the league. Might be worse than Trae Young.
@@elliiiii2we were up by 25+ points by the time Tim went off. Garbage time baskets
As a Mavs fan, let me tell you that THJ wasn't a loss at all. He's too streaky and Klay is a massive upgrade compared to him.
He didn’t even play the last half of the season they tried to integrate him in the playoffs but quickly ended up back on the bench
@thebekgo1624 Tim couldn't shoot off the dribble. He was a better spot up shooter but even those he would miss. And many turnovers in which he would go out of control going to the rim with no plan. That lead to SMH moments 🤦
@@jjoworld 💯
@@vc5917 which was a shame because he was a 6 man candidate earlier in the season but all is good.
Klay is definitely starting. But he also knows hes got two (maybe three with Omax) dogs nipping at his heels if he becomes a real defensive liability. From his press conference he seems super motivated and im optimistic as a Mavs fan
Hes a starter but he wont share the floor with wings, most of the time he will be at 2 with either luka or kyrie and will be a closer.
3 would be for Grimes and Marshall
4 Pj and Maxi
5 Lively Gafford
@@Ka5himMarshall will probably play the 4 a lot more than maxi this year, maxi started losing minutes to end last season and also he’s injured a lot
I'm living in Korea and oh how I miss waking up at 9am and watching dallas. Let's get this seasons started already.
Naji ain't starting. I can't imagine Klay chooses Dallas if they don't project him as the starter. In a world without egos Klay has a real shot at 6 man of the year.
Those 10 shot misses was because he was done. When you’re not happy you will not be as focused. Sometimes you gotta move on to get a fresh breath of air.
Getting rid of Tim wasn’t a loss, him being off our roster instantly makes us better. Tim had to go
Klay didn't sign with Dallas to come off the bench brother. Not happening.
Agreed. Lol
what if they lie to him 😂
Yes he did Kai and Luka are starting over klay, he’s a third option points scorer because as hes spot up shooter and perimeter defender.
@@dynamic8754he left warriors for a bigger role because he wasn’t being started anymore + he’s a wing 😅
He did
I hope klay win the chip next year
nope
@@ninjedi6710 yup
Respect, so many ppl are a prisoner of the moment with Klay
they promised klay to be a starter, and I used to hate it but now that i'm thinking about it, it's not bad, derrick jones jr was a mid defender before pj and gafford which pj is the real defender, we'll be good defensively
I wouldn’t say he was mid. He’s just a very good on ball wing defender, but having defensive anchors/versatile bigs that protect the paint is necessary for anyone’s one on one defensive skills to lead to successful team defense. DJJ was clearly better than Klay defensively but the idea is Klay is still okay as a defender and is light years better than DJJ offensively.
Klay is still an above average defender, i do think he starts but like you said they are gonna stagger his minutes with Kyrie & Luka. Come play-off time adjutments are going to be made depending on the matchup
The best thing about these moves is that now Luka and Kyrie can play fewer minutes.
We'll have to wait and see but I wouldn't be surprised if Naji and Klay are starting and PJ comes off the bench. Klay can guard the #4 as well as Washington and Naji slides into that DJJ role.
Klay definitely starting
Thompson will start. I am sure one of the reasons he signed for less was the guaranteed starting spot. Dont forget that it was a big problem last year when he got benched. So at least this season I am sure he will still be the starting SF. But that doesnt mean he will play 30+ minutes. I am sure he will be subbed out very early in games (after 4-5 minutes) for either Marshall or Grimes. Then they will stagger the "Big 3" for the rest of the game.
In general I am a bit suprised you didnt talk about Grimes at all. He is way more likely to take over the backup SG/SF spot that Green had. He is also a very good defender and also a good volume 3P shooter. If I am not mistaken he even defended the top opponents scorer the most posessions out of all players in the 2022/23 season.
But I agree on O-Max. I really hope he can take the next step and take over Maxi's role at the end of the season, the start of next season. I dont think his 42.5% on over 5 3's in the G-League is translatable to the NBA. But if he can shoot 36%-38% he should be able to provide basically everything that Maxi does.
The problem I see is finding consistent minutes for Hardy, if the team is healthy. Even in the reg Season. Luka 34 min, Kyrie 34 min, Thompson 28 min, Grimes 20 min, Marshall 20 min... means only 8 minutes left for Hardy (offense) or Exum (defense)... thats not much...
Overall the team got clearly better on offense and shouldnt be worse on defense. Yes, Thompson isnt the All Defense PoA defender he was anymore. But he also isnt a complete coam. If his role on offense is reduced and doesnt need constant moving and running, he should have some more energy on defense as well. Means he should clearly be better then THJ, the guy he will replace. And with Grimes/Marshall we have 2 very good defensive wings coming of the bench as well. Both are not worse defensively then DJJ and Green were.
I think Klays minutes should vary based on the opponent they are facing and what is working in that particular game. They have enough pieces to use Klay or not use Klay when it makes sense, regardless of him starting or not (he will start).
@@invisobill2125 Agreed... I thinks that how Kidd will use him. Specially to start the season when he will have to test out different lineups.
Prosper looks special playing for the Legends. I'm sure he'll be called up this coming season
Naji Marshall won’t be a starter… first off the bench
What’s the 5 u think?
Klay, Kyrie, Luka, PJ, Lively. They defo told Klay he’s going to be starting for him to come here.
Sho nuff @@amrit1870
@@backyardbuckets829klay isn’t a bad defender by any means, he’s not the best at defending quick guards but is quite good vs the 4. With an actual centre and him dribbling running less conserves energy for him to play defence.
@@backyardbuckets829 luka, Ky, Klay, pj, lively.. naji first off the bench for klay, klay will come back in with the second unit ran by kyrie to give another scoring option, yes we will lack defense possibly but hopefully klay shooting can offset it, we’ll just have to out gun some teams
the 2028 and 2030 picks that were traded were swaps so they'll still have picks those years to draft or trade
This could be Luka’s prime so much has been made about him play professional since 16 idk if we should expect Luka to play a 20 year nba career
Yeah probably will play like a 15 year career max which puts him around 35 years old at retirement. Which is totally reasonable, especially for someone who plays as physical as him. Not everyone can be a Lebron.
@@invisobill2125 my point exactly I’m just kinda warning other people this very well could be the start or middle of his prime.
@@kukucal.6337 I feel like he’s in his prime. I think he hit his prime last last season by leveling up even though they didn’t make the playoffs, and then this past season he was in his full prime. I expect he can stay in his prime and put up similar numbers until he’s around 30 and then will probably decline slowly until he retires. Any major injuries though could definitely change that timeline. Who knows.
@@invisobill2125 that’s probably more realistic than what most people are think. I know my boy getting at least to rings in the next 5 mark my words
@@kukucal.6337 I think many players can stay in their prime till they’re like 32-33 and some even up to 35, but Lukas long career and physical play makes me think his decline starts around 30. The speed of that decline, who knows. All just speculation. I hope he can get some rings but realistically Kyrie is entering his non-prime soon and his numbers may decline, his defense isn’t stellar so if his offense declines he won’t be a net plus on the court anymore. They can use his massive salary to improve the team once he’s gone but they need to win in the next few years with Kyrie. They blew it by not keeping Brunson, he would have filled the role of Kyrie for the longterm and for cheaper. That was a costly error if it was in their power to keep Brunson, which it’s not clear that it was depending on if you believe Brunson and his dad or you believe Marc Cuban.
I don't know where you're getting those numbers... but Kyrie did not have a 50/40/90 year. He missed on the 50 (fg%).
Klay will help the Warriors win by breaking his 0/10 in 32 mins record.
this will take so much off of luka. Kobe has always done better when you get his on the ball usage just right. luka cant hold the ball over 33%.
Someone took your video audio and made it AI bro I thought I should tell you 😂
Where?😂
Klay is definitely starting, what are you on?!
What I do like about Nba nowadays is that a possible 8 teams can win it all instead of 4 teams. I got the Warriors winning in 2024-2025. Oklahoma is going to be dangerous. Dallas has improved. Warriors have improved and will get Lauri Markkanen mark my words!! Clippers are gonna suck. Lakers are going to suck. Phoenix has not improved nor has a deep bench!! Philadelphia is going need time to gel, so there out of it!! King's have improved, but they are a small market team that I don't see King's as a serious contender. Portland irrelevant. Utah irrelevant. Nets irrelevant. Knicks, Boston, Indiana and Milwaukee in the East!! Warriors, Dallas, Oklahoma Minnesota and Nuggets in the west!! Warriors 5th Ring with Lauri Markkanen!!
Just getting rid of Hardaway Jr and Sr was a win for the Mavs. He was of negative value for the past few months and playoffs..
Acquisition not accusation.
Naji is definitely not starting at the beginning of the season lol Klay is
score 40 in 1st quarter then leave to the defenders
did u just say o max prosper will start over klay thompson
No. I said in the event they bring Klay off the bench due to the fact that they have no POA defender, EITHER Naji or Omax will start
Unpopular opinion:I’d start Naji Marshall over PJ Washington.Hear me out Marshall shot 7% better from 3pt and his defense highlights are actually wild.Marshall is a better fit in the starting lineup since he’s a better 3 point shooter and perimeter defender than PJ.I think PJ and Marshall should have identical minutes and swap when one goes to the bench kind of like how Gafford and Lively have been doing.
As a Mavs fan I rather have klay off the bench n I absolutely love klay but I want to see how Naji meshes as a starter. I truly think klay can blossom as a 6th man n still average 17+ on great efficiency. I just rather have marshall start the game for the defense and then klay starts the 4th quarter. Ik it won't happen but that's the best bet
lol no. You don’t disrupt great chemistry for the hope it’s better. PJ is a beast and will take another step with a full year on the team.
Luka has now LBJ son and Steph's bro
lol if you don’t kink Klay is starting after not starting ruined the entire vibe in GS.
You don’t pay that much money for him to come off the bench…and if you klay you don’t leave golden state to come off the bench for all that you could have stayed lol
630 views:2 hours bro fell off
It’s so frustrating to hear people say bench Klay because of his defense but don’t bench Luka for his free throw shooting AND bad defense.
Lukas weak defense and sub par FT is offset by how much he gives offensively
Well when the Warriors benched Klay it was because the starters were losing the minutes with him, the Mavs however have always lost minutes when Luka wasn’t on the floor & won minutes with him on the floor. Plus, FT shooting is such a dumb thing to point to when there are several current stars & past all time greats far worse than Luka at FTs. Defense is the only somewhat valid point, but offense is much more important in the NBA.
@@Ka5him did he give that offensively against the Clippers this playoff series? Go look at his stats in that series before you respond.
@@sportfanatic5339 lmao. you nitpicking on series games huh? ok then look at his stats on their first 2 series where they lost to 7 and 6 games.
@@JRMason-ri4ii that’s not true, games strictly with Kyrie and without Luka the Mavs are 7-4 according to StatMuse. Since Kyrie joined the team Luka has averaged roughly 23 field goal attempts. If they have a 7-4 record without him that means Jason Kidd is finding ways to get equally efficient buckets out of others, or those that are replacing Luka isn’t allowing as many points to be scored on them as he does.