Dallas Mavericks (2000–2004) He saw significant action as a member of the
Dallas Mavericks in 2000–01 and 2001–02, but recurrent knee injuries limited his action in his last two years in Dallas. He coached at the first-ever
Basketball Without Borders Americas tournament in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, during the 2004 NBA Summer of Goodwill.
Golden State Warriors (2004–2005) On August 24, 2004, Nájera was traded along with
Luis Flores,
Christian Laettner,
Mladen Sekularac, cash, a 2007 first round draft pick, and another future first round draft pick to the
Golden State Warriors in exchange for
Erick Dampier,
Dan Dickau,
Evan Eschmeyer, and
Steve Logan. In Golden State, Najera again put in modest minutes and was a solid contributor.
Denver Nuggets (2005–2008) On February 24, 2005, Nájera was then sent to the
Denver Nuggets along with
Luis Flores and a future first-round pick in exchange for
Nikoloz Tskitishvili and
Rodney White, where he would have some of his most productive seasons as an NBA player. Also in 2006, an exhibition match was played in
Monterrey,
Mexico, between the
Golden State Warriors and the
Denver Nuggets. On April 27, 2006, Nájera started his first playoff game for the Nuggets in Game 3 of their first round series facing the
Los Angeles Clippers. He replaced
Kenyon Martin who was suspended indefinitely for "conduct detrimental to the team". He was partly involved in the December 2006
Knicks–Nuggets brawl. While not involved in the actual fighting, he did try to separate the players. He was ejected from the game for leaving the bench.
New Jersey Nets (2008–2010) On July 11, 2008, Nájera signed a contract with the
New Jersey Nets for 4 years $12 million. He stated that he would make it a point to turn the Nets' young forwards
Yi Jianlian and
Ryan Anderson and center
Brook Lopez into stronger, tougher players. Nájera turned down more money and a chance to return to his college state,
Oklahoma City Thunder. He also turned down an offer from the
New Orleans Hornets in order to take a chance to lead a young and talented New Orleans team.
Return to Dallas (2010) On January 11, 2010, Nájera was traded to the
Dallas Mavericks for
Kris Humphries and
Shawne Williams.
Charlotte Bobcats (2010–2012) On July 13, 2010, Nájera was traded to the
Charlotte Bobcats along with
Erick Dampier and
Matt Carroll in exchange for
Tyson Chandler and
Alexis Ajinça. Nájera's final NBA game ever was played on April 6, 2012, in a 90–95 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks where he only played for two minutes and recorded no stats, suffering a career-ending facial injury. ==Coaching career==