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The veteran with the cult following continued his nomadic NBA existence last season. Marjanovic suited up for both the Clippers and 76ers -- the third and fourth teams of his four-year professional career stateside. The 31-year-old ended up setting new personal bests across the board, logging career highs in minutes (11.7), points (7.3), rebounds (4.6) and shooting percentage (61.5). Marjanovic parlayed his modest success into a two-year, $7 million pact with the Mavericks this offseason, but his role isn't expected to be much different than at his prior stops. He figures to slot in behind Dwight Powell and Maxi Kleber at center, with fellow seven-footer Kristaps Porzingis also capable of potentially filling in at the five. It's worth noting Marjanovic proved highly efficient during some starting opportunities last season, even posting six double-doubles and 27 double-digit scoring tallies overall across 58 games (12 starts). Therefore, he has the potential to offer the occasional spike in production if he sees double-digit minutes, as he's typically active offensively and on the boards when he's on the floor. However, Marjanovic offers little in steals and blocks for a player who's a legitimate 7-foot-3, and he'll likely have an uphill climb to playing time once again in his new locale, barring injuries to those in front of him.
For the second straight season, Marjanovic saw action in less than 40 games, as he struggled to get minutes against teams with smaller, more athletic big men. He actually split the 2017-18 campaign between the Pistons and Clippers, and in 20 games after being dealt to Los Angeles in the Blake Griffin trade, Marjanovic averaged 5.9 points and 4.4 rebounds across 8.4 minutes. He's proven to provide solid production when forced into extended playing time, but that's a rarity and is unlikely to change in his first full season with the Clippers. Look for Marjanovic to provide depth behind Marcin Gortat and Montrezl Harrell, keeping him well off the Fantasy radar.
Marjanovic was stuck in a deep reserve role behind Andre Drummond and Aron Baynes at center last season, playing just 35 games overall. While he showed some promise in the final four games of the season, a stretch where he averaged 15.8 points and 10.3 rebounds across 23.0 minutes, he's unlikely to become a significant part of the team's regular rotation as long as Drummond is around. When you add that to the fact that many NBA teams are transitioning to smaller, quicker big men at center, Marjanovic's 7-foot-3 frame could become an issue trying to defend some of those more athletic and perimeter based centers. Still, with Baynes now in Boston, Marjanovic will pick up backup center duties, a role that should afford him more than the 8.4 minutes he saw a season ago. Look for an uptick in production across the board for Marjanovic, but with Drummond still getting the bulk of the minutes, that should limit Marjanovic's value to those in deeper leagues.
At 7-foot-3 and 290 pounds, Marjanovic will instantly be one of the largest players in the NBA on a team that already has what is most likely the deepest frontcourt in the league. The 27-year-old center from Serbia averaged 16.6 points, 10.7 rebounds, 1.0 assist, 0.9 blocks, and 0.4 steals in 27 minutes per contest through 24 games last season in Europe. Most intriguing is Marjanovic's efficiency, as his production in Europe came on true 62 percent shooting from the field and 78 percent shooting from the free-throw line. With Tim Duncan, David West, LaMarcus Aldridge, Matt Bonner, and Boris Diaw all seasoned NBA veterans, it will be hard for Marjanovic to make a significant impact for the Spurs this season. Should coach Gregg Popovich elect to rest his starters, Marjanovic could have some relevant fantasy nights in daliy games, but he's unlikely to have a prolonged stretch of good fantasy value in standard leagues. Marjanovic suffered a fracture in his foot during July and will be out indefinitely until it heals.