New Jersey Trades for Noe Khlif as 5’s Remain in Championship or Bust Mode

Challenger is still alive for 2026, and in classic MLP fashion, that means the trade deadline was pushed back until July 21st. So, what we thought was a trade deadline deal – Noe Khlif to the New Jersey 5’s for Craig Johnson and cash – ends up being a pre-deadline deal.

As the top teams look to make a push for a championship run, we’ve seen a few consequential MLP trades recently, with this being the second of note from the 5’s. Following their acquisition of Mari Humberg, the 5’s made a move on Wednesday to upgrade their #2 male situation by bringing on Noe Khlif.

The first question that came to mind all was whether Khlif would be an immediate starter or slot in more like what we saw from Mari Humberg at Beer City. That question got answered quickly after Zane Navratil posted a reaction video. Navratil said that the 5’s part-owner and GM, Ryan Harwood, gave him the option to be traded to another team as a starter or remain on the team as a bench player. Navratil chose to stick with the 5’s so we should expect to see Noe Khlif on the court primarily.

We have to assume the 5’s have been shopping around, and Khlif is the best they could do. While he is an upgrade over Zane Navratil, Khlif is a bit of an awkward fit for what New Jersey needs. He is primarily a left-side men’s player and will have to scoot back to the right to play with Howells – though Khlif did spend the 2024 season playing the right with Eric Oncins. He should be an upgrade as a pure mixed player and for Dreambreakers, but he doesn’t necessarily address what the 5’s need, which is a lefty to pair with Mari Humberg.

Our opinion is that the 5’s believe Mari Humberg gives them the best chance to win, which is why she played over Meghan Dizon in the most important match of the season against the Shock. The trouble with playing Mari is that you’re almost punting the mixed matchup against better teams because Humberg isn’t comfortable playing the right, even with a righty male. Khlif will be an upgrade over Navratil playing with Dizon, but as a newer player, he might not have much familiarity with trying to play a big right side in mixed.

Regardless of the awkward fit, if this is the best the 5’s could do, it gives them a better chance to win compared to what standing pat would have accomplished. Player management seems to be the specialty of the New Jersey 5’s, and Zane sounds on board with the direction they’ve taken. However, that doesn’t mean having two very capable bench players won’t cause any problems for the 5’s. Even with Zane on board, lineup decisions for the women each match will be scrutinized heavily. Both Humberg and Dizon want to play, and neither will likely be happy riding the pine in the biggest matches.

Also, if things with Noe Khlif aren’t working out as well as hoped, you have to expect thoughts will creep in about whether Navratil should be playing over him. Depth is a luxury, but it also makes matters more complicated for New Jersey than any other team in MLP.

Ultimately, if this somehow ends up making the 5’s worse, what does it really matter? They weren’t in a strong position to win the way they were constructed, so if this moves the needle closer to a championship by even a couple percentage points, it’s worth the risk.

From a bigger picture perspective, the gap continues to widen between the “have” and “have-not” teams. Miami got a bunch of cash when they traded Oncins for Khlif after the 2025 Free Agency Draft and are now likely getting another six figures plus in this deal. People have discussed that trades for cash could provide ammo for teams in next year’s free agency draft or offseason trades, but it’s more realistic that teams like Miami are simply trying to recoup as much cash as possible, knowing a championship run is nearly impossible.

It should go without saying that it isn’t good for the league to have its talent as concentrated as it is. Noe Khlif is a very cheap, quality asset that a team can keep for two more years and Miami traded him away. That may have made him more enticing for the 5’s, since they can only keep two of their 2024 draft picks for three years (meaning Navratil was on his way to being dropped anyway), but it’s problematic Miami was willing to part with him.

Screw the bigger picture for now, though. New Jersey widened the gap between them and the next most interesting team in MLP, and there’s a good chance this gets them closer to being able to win a championship, even if it’s only a little bit closer.

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