Newest Mavericks forward showing serious shades of former fan favorite

Mavericks GM Nico Harrison has once again hit the jackpot.

Mavs fans have shown their appreciation to former fan favorite, Derrick Jones Jr. Now, with new faces on the roster, Mavs fans might not miss Jones Jr. as much once the ball tips off officially in October.

The reason being, is the signing of former Pelicans forward Naji Marshall resembles everything Jones Jr. brought to the table for Dallas, except Marshall's future might just be a tad brighter.

Naji Marshall might be a slightly better version of Derrick Jones Jr.

Jones Jr. probably had the best season of his career in his lone season with Dallas. He averaged 8.6 points while shooting 34 percent from deep. He added on to his Dallas resume starting in 66 regular season games, the most in his career.

It was an awkward move when Jones Jr. was snatched up by the LA Clippers this offseason, especially considering Dallas and L.A.'s recent playoff history.

Jones Jr. provided good size on the wing, showing tenacious hustle, great on-ball defense, and fine jumping ability.

Marshall presents himself as a 3-and-D wing who's slightly bigger than Jones Jr. Marshall is 220 pounds while Jones Jr. is 210 pounds. Marshall is also one inch taller than Jones Jr. at 6-foot-6.

Jones Jr. had spurts of great shooting performances, but he impacted the game better defensively. In the NBA Finals, the lack of fine shooting caught up to Dallas and their bench didn't match up well against Boston.

Adding Marshall to the Dallas roster adds the same defense as Jones Jr. brought, except Marshall brings slightly better shooting to his new team.

Marshall doesn't have much experience as a full-time starter, as he started in 21 games in the 2022-23 season. He only started in one game last season. Like Jones Jr., Marshall had some career bests in New Orleans last season, shooting 39 percent from deep and shooting 46 percent from the field.

Marshall is a go getter on offense. He distributes the ball and takes it to the hole when he needs to. An aggressive player on the Mavs roster helps the team out a lot.

Mavs fans will be expecting much better depth compared to last season. Harrison has done magic in his short tenure as GM, turning Tim Hardaway Jr., Derrick Jones Jr. and Josh Green into Marshall, Quentin Grimes and Klay Thompson. Depth like that is reassuring when you're going up against teams like the Boston Celtics.

For all the latest on Naji Marshall and the Dallas Mavericks, stay tuned as we'll have you covered.