The Dallas Mavericks have made their first move of free agency and it’s not the name some expected. While the Mavs have discussions with Klay Thompson and Derrick Jones Jr., they’ve decided to go ahead and pull the trigger on a 3&D wing.

According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Mavericks are signing New Orleans Pelicans’ forward Naji Marshall to a 3-year, $27 million deal. It was reported that Marshall could become a target for Dallas if they couldn’t come to agreements with Jones Jr., who remains a free agent. Marshall will fit into part of Dallas’ mid-level exception.

READ MORE: Dallas Mavericks Free Agent Target Plans To Sign With Orlando Magic

Marshall, a 26-year-old from Xavier, has spent all four years of his career with New Orleans. He averaged 7.1 PPG and 3.6 RPG as part of a deep Pelicans team and shot a career-high 38.7% from 3-point range. He has good size at 6’7″ and 220 pounds and offers defensive versatility.

Depending on the structure of his deal, Dallas will still have around $4 million left in their midlevel exception. It’s not certain if Derrick Jones Jr., who Nico Harrison called their priority 1A and 1B this offseason, would be willing to take a 1+1 deal worth the remaining of the exception to return. They’re also still working out a possible sign-and-trade to acquire Klay Thompson. If that falls through, they could work out a sign-and-trade for Marshall if they needed to.

Welcome to Dallas Naji Marshall. He should have an easier opportunity than ever to get his shot off getting open looks from Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving. Signings cannot become official until July 6th.

READ MORE: Warriors’ Klay Thompson To Meet With Dallas Mavericks Among Other Teams In Free Agency

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The Miami Heat have dominated the NBA’s Southeast Division, winning 12 titles since 2004.

After failing to win it last season, the gap potentially widened Sunday when teams were allowed to negotiate with free agents. The Orlando Magic, who are the reigning division champs, are planning to add Denver Nuggets guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope once players are allowed to sign.

Caldwell-Pope gives the Magic an experienced scorer to pair alongside rising star Paolo Banchero and forward Franz Wagner. Last year Caldwell-Pope averaged 10.1 points and shot 40.6 percent from the 3-point line.

He won two championships, both against the Heat. In 2020, he was a key cog in the Los Angeles Lakers defeating Miami during the bubble season in Orlando. In 2023, he was a starter on the Nuggets team that knocked off the Heat in five games.

He should help the Magic improve on last year’s 47-35 record after reportedly agreeing to a three-year, $66-million deal. They have one of the league’s top frontcourts in Banchero and Wagner, who combined to average more than 42 points and 12 rebounds.

The Heat, meanwhile, are less flexible than the Magic and Philadelphia 76ers because of salary cap space. They are limited on who they can add as a free agent, so will have to likely part ways with Tyler Herro or Duncan Robinson for any chance of revamping the roster.

Shandel Richardson is the publisher of Inside The Heat. He can be reached at shandelrich@gmail.com

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Atlanta public media leader WABE is revamping its radio schedule “to better serve and engage Atlanta’s audience with more voices, perspectives, and locally-focused content.”

What does mean for NPR Member WABE-FM 90.1?

Station management says it is “enhancing its lineup across all dayparts with optimized scheduling and compelling new shows,” adding that the updates “underscore WABE’s commitment to delivering the best national and Atlanta-focused programming and experiences across multiple platforms.”

WABE President/CEO Jennifer Dorian explains, “These changes allow us to live up to our promise of ‘Amplifying Atlanta’ by curating a unique mix of local stories and voices that capture the vibrant arts, culture, and community narratives you can’t find elsewhere. It’s public media reimagined to be a distinctive voice for our dynamic city.”

In particular, WABE-FM is adding 10 new programs, “bringing more perspectives on themes like world news, business/economy, science/health, and society/culture.”

The changes take place on July 29, with the 10am-2pm time slot “reimagined.”

This sees “On Point” at 11 a.m., “Closer Look With Rose Scott” at noon, and “City Lights With Lois Reitzes” at 1 p.m., leading into “Fresh Air” at 2 p.m. on weekdays.

Long-running international news magazine “The World” debuts on weeknights at 7 p.m. The evening rebroadcasts of “Closer Look” and “City Lights” move to 8 p.m. and 10 p.m., respectively.

Friday afternoons on WABE-FM will now focus on health and science programming, starting with the debut of “Health Wanted with Laurel Bristow” at 1 p.m. The new weekly show exploring developments in public health is produced by WABE in partnership with the Rollins School of Public Health. Following Health Wanted is “Science Friday,” at 2 p.m.

Weekends on WABE are expanding with programs such as “Throughline” (Saturday, 1 p.m.), “No Small Endeavor” (Sunday, 7 a.m.), and a “Planet Money/How I Built This” block (Sunday, 11 a.m.), before the live call-in program “Notes From America” debuts at 6 p.m. Sundays.

In addition, WABE Studios has been building a slate of original podcast content, with more than 25 shows in development and production for the WABE/NPR Podcast Network.