Jason Kidd admits harsh trade reality Mavericks can't escape

Regardless of how badly Naji Marshall wants to remain in Dallas, he could be traded over the next few days.

Noah Weber

Dallas Mavericks, Jason Kidd / Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

Earlier this week, Naji Marshall made it clear that he wanted to remain a Dallas Maverick beyond the trade deadline. He has been Dallas' hottest trade candidate for weeks now, drawing significant interest around the league, but he prefers to remain a Maverick and play alongside Cooper Flagg.

Despite his desires, basketball is a business. Players can get traded against their will at any moment, just like Luka Doncic was, and Jason Kidd understands this as much as anyone. Kidd himself was traded by the Mavericks at one point in his NBA career, and he knows that there's a chance that the same thing happens to Marshall over the next day and a half.

"You see Naji has come out and said he loves playing for the Mavs," Kidd said before the Mavs took on the Boston Celtics on Tuesday night. "He could be traded, right, and that's just the nature of the business. Sometimes that gets in the way."

Naji Marshall's Mavericks future is far from guaranteed

Kidd seems to know that Marshall could end up being on the move despite the team's preference to keep him, and this is an extremely hard spot to be in if you're Dallas.

On one hand, Marshall could easily be a key piece of your future. He is averaging a career-high 14.5 points per game while shooting over 53 percent from the field, and has been a key reason that the Mavericks have won as many games as they have. He has proven that he can be a key rotation piece for years to come, as he is in the middle of his prime at just 28 years old.

On the other hand, this may be the most trade value that he'll ever have. Marshall is in year two of a three-year, $27 million deal, and teams around the league would love to have him for the final stretch of the season. They'd get to have him for the rest of this season, as well as next season, and his impact on the game clearly stretches far beyond the box score.

His hustle, defense, energy, and team-first attitude haven't gone unnoticed by rival front offices, as shown by several suitors emerging from the woodwork, and Kidd knows that there is no promise that he is a Maverick this time in two days.

The NBA can be extremely cut-throat, as fan-favorite players can turn into trade chips in the blink of an eye, and the next few days will determine how much the Mavericks really value Naji Marshall.

Dallas has set a high trade threshold for him, as they should, but every player has a price. The Mavericks are fully focused on building around Cooper Flagg, and if they believe the potential return package they will receive outweighs Marshall's impact, they could decide to move on.

Regardless of how much this would hurt Mavericks fans, there's always a chance. Nothing is guaranteed in today's NBA, and as blunt as Kidd's quote may have sounded, he isn't wrong.

Noah Weber

Noah Weber is the Site Expert for The Smoking Cuban, covering the Dallas Mavericks as a credentialed media member since the 2022-23 season. With a Bachelor of Science in Sports Media from Oklahoma State University, Noah has worked in sports journalism since 2019. While he's covered the Dallas Cowboys and Oklahoma State Cowboys, he has now established himself as a go-to voice for Mavericks coverage. Noah's expertise includes in-depth game analysis, social media content creation, and offering unique perspectives through his reporting. His work has been featured on major platforms such as ESPN, Bleacher Report, and Overtime. During his time at Oklahoma State, Noah won first place in the Oklahoma Broadcast Education Association Awards for a show he co-produced. Outside of covering the Mavs, Noah enjoys working out, playing basketball and Spikeball, and spending quality time with friends and family.