With the October 19 deadline getting closer, the Mavericks are trying to sort out their opening-night roster, and Dwight Powell has pushed himself back into the conversation. Not long ago, his time in Dallas looked finished.
Once free agency opened and the Mavericks didn’t extend a contract offer, Powell became an unrestricted free agent, a move that pointed toward the end of his 12-year run with the franchise. Then Dallas brought him into training camp, and the door cracked back open.
That turn has only gotten more interesting because Powell has clearly made an impression on Dusty May. Even during Kyrie Irving’s unofficial mini camp, Powell was around the team and appeared to be getting along well with the head coach. May did not sound eager to make any promises when asked about Powell’s roster chances, but he was direct about the value Powell has brought so far:
“Those questions I can’t answer. You spoke about Masai and Mike Schmitz.
Those are the decisions those guys make based on the information they get from the staff, from their eyes. Dwight has been very valuable so far to us.
I think it’s evident when he’s on the floor, we function well. It’s been a joy to get to know him and be around him.”
“I try to stay out of that fray and deciding those types of things,” May added. “But Dwight has been very, very useful to us.”
May stopped short of saying anything definitive, and the final call still belongs to the front office, with Masai Ujiri and Mike Schmitz expected to make the decision. Even so, his comments suggest Powell has done more than just survive camp - he has given Dallas something to think about.
The case for keeping him starts with fit. The Mavericks are heading into the 2026-27 season as a team with a strange balance to strike.
The franchise has made its desire to build around Cooper Flagg clear, but the roster also includes veterans such as Kyrie Irving, Naji Marshall, and P.J. Washington.
That mix says Dallas is not treating this as a pure youth movement, and that matters for a player like Powell.
Powell’s numbers have never been the selling point. He has long been the type of role player who does a little of everything without filling up the box score, and last season he averaged 3.3 points, 4.1 rebounds, 1.1 assists, and 0.5 steals per game.
In this preseason, after two appearances, he is averaging 2.0 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 5.0 assists per game. On paper, none of that jumps off the page.
But Powell has still carved out a reputation as someone who helps a team function.
At 6’11”, he can step in as a backup big off the bench, set screens, rebound, and defend opposing big men. He is no longer the lob threat he once was, but he still gives a coach dependable minutes and a steady presence. That kind of usefulness is hard to ignore, especially when a team is trying to piece together its rotation.
Of course, Dallas does have numbers working against him. The frontcourt is crowded with Dereck Lively II, P.J.
Washington, Morez Johnson Jr., Santi Aldama, and Moussa Cisse. With five young bigs in the mix, Powell’s path is not exactly wide open.
Then again, injuries may have changed the equation. Recent reports say Moussa Cisse suffered a left ankle sprain in the Mavericks’ preseason game against the Pelicans.
With Cisse out and Lively dealing with recurring injury issues, Dallas may need someone dependable to serve as insurance. That is where Powell’s case gets stronger.
He may not swing the Mavericks’ ceiling or turn them into a better team on his own, but Powell offers experience, stability, and a skill set that still fits a bench role. Given the way camp has gone and the uncertainty in the frontcourt, he has made a real argument to be on the opening-night roster.
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For the Mavericks, the wrinkle is less about the name value of the deal than the roster math it could trigger. Dwight Powells return would require room, which means Dallas may have to make a decision somewhere else on the bench, and that is where the squeeze starts to matter. Hardys fit is easy enough to imagine in a second unit that could use more scoring, but the question is whether the Mavericks are ready to reshuffle bodies to make the move work. [Read more 🡒]