The Mavericks already made one strange roster call this offseason by moving on from Klay Thompson, and the possibility of bringing back Dwight Powell only makes the whole picture harder to follow.
Dallas worked to find a trade for Thompson before eventually buying him out, sending the four-time NBA champion to the Miami Heat and giving him the contender he had wanted for the final stage of his career. The decision stung at first because the Mavericks got nothing back in return for one of the best shooters ever, but it also fit the reality of the roster. Dallas had 16 players on standard contracts, one over the league limit, and had to clear a spot before the season anyway.
That context made the split with Thompson easier to understand. The fit was already uncertain as the Mavericks entered the Dusty May era with 19-year-old Cooper Flagg as the franchise cornerstone, so the two sides separating made sense on paper.
What does not make as much sense is the idea that Powell could be back in the mix.
Dallas plans to invite Powell to training camp ahead of the 2026-27 season and give him a shot to compete for a roster spot. If he were to make the team, the Mavericks would need to waive someone to get him onto the 15-man roster. That alone would add another layer to a move that already looked questionable.
Powell would not be close to a locked-in rotation piece. At best, he would sit behind Dereck Lively II and Daniel Gafford on the center depth chart next season, and that is before even factoring in Moussa Cisse, Morez Johnson Jr. and Santi Aldama, both of whom can play the five and would likely be in the rotation.
That is why the possibility of Powell landing a standard contract after Thompson was bought out feels so odd. If Dallas really wanted Powell in camp with a chance to win a spot, it raises the obvious question of why the team couldn’t find another way to keep Thompson around.
He would have given the Mavericks a more useful asset, especially since he is on an expiring contract and could have been shopped again at the trade deadline for some return. Powell, by comparison, is nowhere near as appealing a trade chip.
For now, a standard deal for Powell still seems unlikely because the roster is full. The most likely outcome remains that Dallas keeps its 15-man group intact.
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