Dwight Powell is back with the Mavericks, but Dallas still has some roster math to solve before he can officially settle in.
Powell re-signed with the team on Friday, yet the Mavs are already at the 15-player limit on standard contracts, according to Marc Stein of The Stein Line. That means Dallas will need to trade or waive somebody to make room for the 35-year-old big man, who has spent nearly his entire career with the franchise.
League sources told Stein that team officials have told Powell they will “explore pathways” to keep him, but that promise could still force a tough choice. The cleanest contracts to move belong to Marcus Sasser ($5.2MM), Tarik Biberovic ($3MM) and Moussa Cisse ($2.2), though Stein notes the team would rather hold onto all three.
Caleb Martin is another possible path, Stein writes, since Dallas has other options at his position. But that route would come with a real financial hit. Martin is owed about $20MM in guaranteed money over the next two years, and even if the stretch provision is used on his 2027/28 salary, waiving him would still be expensive.
Powell’s deal is a veteran’s minimum contract with a $1MM guarantee, and that number rises to $1.5MM if he is not waived before opening night.
Stein also reported more around the league, starting with Walker Kessler and the Jazz. Before Kessler was traded to the Lakers in July, his representatives had convinced Utah that he was prepared to take his qualifying offer and become an unrestricted free agent next summer.
That would have pointed toward the end of his run with the Jazz, which helps explain why Utah was eager to move him and why the Lakers put together such a strong offer. Stein adds that Los Angeles was willing to pay up because Kessler was Luka Doncic’s preferred defensive anchor and because the Lakers still had plenty of draft capital after sending out only one unprotected first-round pick in the Doncic trade with Dallas.
Kyrie Irving also made it clear over the weekend that he does not want the constant trade chatter to spill into the locker room. Speaking at media day and then again with reporters on Saturday, the Mavericks guard said he loves being in Dallas and stressed the impact rumors can have on younger players.
“Anytime you guys ask me, I’m going to tell you where we are and how I feel, but also keep in mind that we do have a young team. They’re very impressionable,” he said.
“I’m not trying to bring any BS into the locker room or any rumors. My name in the trade mill and other guys in the trade mill as well … there’s too much of that in this league now.
There’s way too much of that. And it affects people’s mental health.
… In order to get the best team possible, as you want to see out there, we need everybody growing in the same direction - including our fans.”
Finally, Stein said the Pistons’ contract standoff with Jalen Duren could drag all the way to Thursday, the deadline for him to accept his $9.6MM qualifying offer. Duren did not attend today’s media day, and a source briefed on the situation told Stein that league rules bar him from taking part in any team activities until his contract situation is resolved.
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