1 Mavericks player in danger of losing starting job in 2026-27 training camp

Story by

Story by
1 Mavericks player in danger of losing starting job in 2026-27 training camp

Jedd Pagaduan, ClutchPoints · ClutchPoints

Thu, Oct 1, 2026 ·

5 min read

About Our Ads

1 Mavericks player in danger of losing starting job in 2026-27 training camp appeared first on ClutchPoints . Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here .

There is palpable excitement around the Dallas Mavericks heading into their second full season of the post-Luka Doncic era. After all, Cooper Flagg averaged 21.0 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 4.5 assists per contest in his rookie campaign, and the Mavs are about to address their roster's biggest weakness last season (point guard) with the returning Kyrie Irving .

While it might be too early still for the Mavericks to contend for a playoff spot, it's hard to argue that Dallas isn't in a good enough position considering how disastrous the Doncic trade was on their end. They even pulled the plug on the Anthony Davis experiment just to rid themselves of Nico Harrison's lasting legacy with the franchise.

Heading into the 2026-27 season, it looks as though only two Mavericks players are guaranteed to start — Flagg and Irving. The other three spots seem to be up for grabs, making the start of training camp that much more fascinating under new head coach Dusty May.

Watch sports LIVE with fuboTV (free trial)

With a new head coach at the helm, Mavs players have the opportunity to impress in camp and win their position battles. And considering how crowded the Mavericks' forward spots are, they will have to bring their A-game to earn the starting job from the jump.

With that said, here is the one Mavericks player who is in danger of losing his starting job heading into the 2026-278 campaign.

Naji Marshall might retreat back to a bench role

Naji Marshall started 47 of the 74 games he played in for the Mavericks last season, so he wasn't a full-time starter under former head coach Jason Kidd. Nonetheless, he was playing so well that it was hard to deny him a huge role. He averaged 15.2 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 3.3 assists, and even though he didn't shoot well from deep (29.1% from three), he shot so efficiently from two (58.7%) that it scarcely mattered. He impressed so much that the Mavs extended his contract and gave him a three-year, $52.2 million deal.

Towards the end of last season, Marshall was drawing the bulk of his starts as a ballhandler alongside Flagg, who didn't last long in the team's experiment to make him the floor general. And with Irving back, there's not much need for Dallas to put him in the starting lineup.

Under May , it makes more sense for Marshall to come off the bench, especially when the Mavericks are going to fill their void at point guard with Irving, who solves a lot of the team's need for shot-creation. With Flagg expected to take a bigger leap in his sophomore campaign, it might be best to utilize Marshall's swashbuckling skillset to help commandeer bench units.

Irving and Flagg will need a plethora of space to work with to do their most damage, and having capable floor-spacers is going to be crucial for the Mavericks to bring out the best in their two stars.

Considering that it's likely that the Mavs start Daniel Gafford at center, at least to begin the season with Dereck Lively II still not cleared to return, for his rim protection and his threat as a lob finisher, having Marshall out on the court would mean that Dallas has two non-shooters on the court, which may not be ideal.

The Mavs could remedy that by starting someone like Santi Aldama at the five. But defense is an important part of the game as well, and having Gafford anchor the paint should help the team achieve greater balance on both ends of the court.

With achieving two-way balance in mind, the Mavericks' best course of action, at least on paper, is to start Max Christie and PJ Washington alongside Irving, Flagg, and Gafford. Both Christie and Washington are stout defensive presences on the perimeter, and both are much more consistent three-point marksmen than Marshall.

Christie, the leftover piece from the Doncic trade, impressed last season to the point of making the starting shooting guard job his completely. He averaged 12.3 points per game and he shot 40.4% from deep. There is no way Dallas would remove him from the starting lineup when he plays his off-ball role to a T.

Washington is the bigger question mark. But he can be the team's designed perimeter stopper , someone the Mavericks deploy to guard the likes of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander or Anthony Edwards , just to name a few superstars. He may not have had the best of seasons last year, but in a more stable role in a more stable team, he could have a bounce-back campaign.

Nonetheless, the Mavericks are going to be cautious with Irving anyway. They might hold him out of back-to-back sets. Thus, it should not come as a surprise to anyone if Marshall ends up being the pick to fill in for Irving during his designated rest days even over more natural point guards such as Marcus Sasser or rookie Sergio de Larrea.

Mobilize your Website

View Site in Mobile | Classic

Share by: