The Dallas Mavericks left Dwight Powell on the bench Wednesday night as they weighed whether to open a roster spot for him before Monday’s 3 p.m. CT cut deadline. The move came in a preseason game against the New Orleans Pelicans, a night when Dallas was still sorting out the last pieces of its 2026-27 season roster.
Powell matters here because he is not just another camp body. The 35-year-old is the longest-tenured player on the roster, and Dallas brought him back on a training camp deal after his contract expired this summer. He was active in both preseason games in Macao, playing about 20 minutes per game and averaging two points and three rebounds, which kept him in the mix as the Mavericks worked toward Friday night’s preseason finale against the Atlanta Hawks at American Airlines Center.
That search for balance is why his name keeps coming up now. Dallas has only 15 standard deals, and Powell is on an exclusive training camp contract, so keeping him would require moving someone else off the board. The frontcourt picture already includes Daniel Gafford as the starter, Dereck Lively II still recovering from foot surgery, and newcomers Morez Johnson Jr. and Santi Aldama trying to fit in. In that setting, Powell’s experience is part of the appeal, especially after Dusty May said, “Dwight has been very valuable so far to us. It’s evident when he’s on the floor that we function well.”
But the same game that kept Powell out also complicated the decision. Moussa Cisse suffered a minor ankle injury against the Pelicans, and he had already become a candidate to be moved if Dallas wanted to make room. Tarik Biberovic is the other likely name in that discussion. Cisse’s two-year offer sheet was matched this offseason, and the Mavericks missed the deadline to cut him, making his contract fully guaranteed at $2.1 million. That is the kind of detail that narrows Dallas’ choices fast.
May said he would have a say in the final call alongside Masai Ujiri and Mike Schmitz, but he also made clear that the decision is bigger than one coach’s view. “Of course I’ll have an opinion on everything we do,” he said. “But it still comes down to the decision-makers making decisions.” With the preseason finale done and the regular-season opener at the Houston Rockets set for Wednesday, Oct. 21, the question is no longer whether Powell fits. It is whether Dallas wants him enough to clear a path.
