Former New Orleans Pelicans Forward Named to 'Most Underrated NBA Players' List

After departing the New Orleans Pelicans this offseason, one of their past forwards has been named one of the most underrated players in the league.

Apr 27, 2024; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New Orleans Pelicans Forward Naji Marshall (8) handles the ball against the Oklahoma City Thunde during the second quarter of game three of the first round for the 2024 NBA playoffs at Smoothie King Center / Matt Bush-USA TODAY Sports

If this is the roster the New Orleans Pelicans enter the upcoming season with, it will be interesting to see if they improve or not.

On paper, they added more star power following the acquisition of Dejounte Murray in early-July. Ideally, he will allow the players already in place to do things they are best at since he will be taking over primary ball handling responsibilities.

CJ McCollum will work off the ball and should see his shooting numbers continue to be elite after he posted a career-high 42.9 percent shooting mark from deep. With better facilitation and Jonas Valanciunas gone, the lane should have more space for Zion Williamson and others to operate.

Right now, it sounds like Brandon Ingram is going to be part of this team in 2024-25. He would be the one piece who could get the Pelicans a legitimate starting center, something they are clearly lacking. But without teams eager to land the young wing player, New Orleans seems to be stuck with him.

Valanciunas isn't the only player who was lost this offseason, though.

To land Murray, the Pelicans shipped out solid backup big men Larry Nance Jr. and Cody Zeller, alongside promising wing Dyson Daniels, and G League player E.J Liddell.

Naji Marshall also departed in free agency, signing a three-year, $27 million contract deal with the Dallas Mavericks after spending four seasons with the Pelicans following going undrafted in the 2020 NBA draft.

The Xavier product carved out a nice niche for himself largely coming off the bench in New Orleans.

He averaged 7.5 points, 2.8 rebounds and 3.5 assists during his 19.5 minutes per game. With his new team he's hoping to take his career to the next level.

Dan Favale of Bleacher Report thinks that could happen as he puts Marshall on his list of "Most Underrated NBA Players Right Now."

"But he can rumble with bigger forwards who are more like actual bigs (i.e. Paolo Banchero). And primary initiators who rely on changes in pace (i.e. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander) are right in his defensive wheelhouse. The 26-year-old is extremely plug-and-play on offense ...," he writes.

Favale goes on to highlight Marshall's 38.7 percent shooting performance from three-point land this past season and how effective he is at the rim and in the lane, converting 49.2 percent of his drives and 49.1 percent of his floaters.

How he performs with the Mavericks will be seen, but there's a chance he becomes an impact player for the defending Western Conference champions and is a thorn in the side of his old team.