Klay Thompson’s starting job could be in jeopardy due to training camp standout

The Dallas Mavericks are officially back to work after a short summer of rest, as the Mavericks concluded Media Day on Monday and had their first day of training camp in Las Vegas on Tuesday. There were plenty of interesting storylines coming out of media day, such as Dereck Lively II being confirmed to be the starting center at the start of the season.

Media day was an interesting spectacle that gave some insight into what's been going on with Mavericks players this summer as well as what the new players think of the organization thus far, but we won't know anything concrete about this Mavericks team until we see them take the court against another opponent.

Training camp and preseason can help provide a further background on what Dallas' full rotation may look like once they kick things off against the San Antonio Spurs at home on October 24, as it's the first window of opportunity to see how the pieces on this Mavericks team are fitting together, even if the team is still in the beginning stages of putting together a more polished product.

With that being said, Mavericks newcomer Naji Marshall impressed heavily on day one of training camp, which preemptively begs the question of whether Marshall could possibly end up demanding a starting job.

Naji Marshall could start in place of Klay Thompson

With Dallas essentially confirmed to be starting Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving, and Lively II, Marshall would theoretically start in place of either Klay Thompson or P.J. Washington if he started. In all likelihood though, Thompson's spot would be jeopardized the most between the two if this scenario arose, as the Mavericks would likely come to that conclusion if they find there's a true lack of defense in their starting lineup.

While neither Thompson nor Washington are confirmed to be starters yet, penciling them in as starters would give Dallas one of the best offensive starting lineups in the NBA without a doubt, though there are obviously concerns over how that lineup would fare defensively with Dallas not having a true elite point-of-attack defender in that lineup barring Washington.

Questions over how Dallas' complete starting lineup will look once the season opens up likely won't be answered until toward the end of training camp, but if Marshall continues the level of play that Thompson cited after Tuesday's practice, he ironically may start in place of Thompson.

Thompson talked about how he was impressed with Marshall's in-between game after day one of training camp in Las Vegas, as Marshall displayed his versatility on offense. Marshall is already known for being a very high-profile wing defender, so he could certainly cement himself as a candidate to start if he can make some plays off the dribble for Dallas in training camp and preseason, especially if he can continue to shoot around 38.7 percent from downtown like he did last season for the New Orleans Pelicans.

It's important to note that the Mavericks have only held a few practice sessions since training camp began, so it's no guarantee that Marshall will start over Thompson or even Washington, though his start to training camp should have Mavericks fans excited for this coming season.

Marshall talked about how he's always thought passing has been a key strength of his game at Media Day and he displayed that with the Pelicans last season as well. It's great to see more and more evidence come out about Marshall being far more versatile offensively than most Mavericks fans and general NBA fans would expect, as Marshall could surprise some people this coming season.