Marc Stein of The Stein Line reported the Dallas Mavericks announced on Sunday an agreement between the franchise and forward Naji Marshall on a three-year, $50 million contract extension that will take Marshall off the 2027 NBA unrestricted free agency market.
After a career season statistically in 2025-26, Naji Marshall has nearly doubled his salary with a new three-year deal in excess of $50 million. Marshall was entering the final season of his original three-year Dallas deal at $9.4 million. https://t.co/3jMS1hfXBm
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) August 2, 2026
Marshall’s new Mavericks contract is a handsome reward for rising to the occasion of transitioning to a regular Mavericks starter after the first 20 games of the 2025-26 NBA season (starting a total of 47 games), en route to earning season averages and career highs of 15.2 points per game, 3.3 assists per game, and 1.1 steals per game.
The spoils of Marshall’s Mavericks contract extension also stem from being a reliable veteran complement to 2025-26 NBA rookie-of-the-year Cooper Flagg. Marshall finished the 2025-26 NBA regular season second on the Maveicks roster in terms of players who assisted Flagg’s field-goal makes, with 41 assists to Flagg, according to NBA Stats.
Bulls rookie Caleb Wilson intends to follow in the footsteps of Flagg and finish the 2026-27 NBA season by hoisting the NBA rookie-of-the-year trophy. The Bulls should also follow in the footsteps of the Mavericks and quickly secure a long-term veteran to complement Wilson’s rookie contract timeline.
But Norman Powell is on the roster
Perhaps you had a reaction while reading this story to the effect of “the Bulls already signed Norman Powell”. While it’s true that Powell is a well-established, NBA champion veteran, there’s also a reasonable outcome in which Powell is not on the Bulls roster beyond the 2026-27 NBA season, given the short-term structure of his Bulls contract.
We got Matas - we’re good
Matas Buzelis and Wilson may eventually form an elite wing tandem; however, Buzelis himself would benefit from a new veteran presence on the Bulls' roster after he discussed his reaction to the massive roster turnover the Bulls completed at the 2026 NBA trade deadline with Lonzo Ball on his podcast.
Aside from feelings, Matas knows he needs to work on his decision-making, and that’s where the value of a veteran wing can help sharpen Buzelis’ basketball IQ in his crucial third NBA season.
Bryson Graham’s mission is clear
In a wonderful set of coincidences, the Bulls actually took the first step towards acquiring their version of Naji Marshall by acquiring a front office executive who had a hand in signing Marshall to an NBA two-way contract with the New Orleans Pelicans as an undrafted rookie, Bulls lead front office executive, Bryson Graham.
Within short order, Graham should secure a high-functioning vet that can guide Caleb Wilson through the first four seasons of his NBA career.
If Graham doesn’t succeed with this objective, perhaps Graham is interested in developing his Wilson complement via guard Dailyn Swain, who, like Marshall, is also a product of Xavier University, or guard Jaylin Sellers, who has the opportunity to blaze his own two-way contract conversion trail, like Marshall.
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