Mavericks' refusal to make needed trade will continue to screw them

It's been a long ride for Dallas Mavericks veteran, Dwight Powell. He's been through a lot of toxic behavior in the Mavs organization, such as when Rajon Rondo quit on his own team. He's also seen some of the best and worst days in Mavericks history with the end of Dirk Nowitzki, the rise of Luka Doncic, the loss in the 2024 NBA Finals, and the trade that sent Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers.

Basically, Powell has seen it all, but with the roster coming together to compete for an NBA championship in the next few years, it might be time to hang the white flag for the Mavericks' fan-favorite big. Of course, some fans won't like hearing that, but Powell will not be getting much playing time over Anthony Davis, Dereck Lively II, and Daniel Gafford.

It's a harsh reality that fans might not want to accept, but it needs to happen. Powell has done much over his 11-year Maverick career, and if he leaves, it definitely shouldn't be taken lightly. Former Mavs guard Spencer Dinwiddie praised Powell's great voice in the locker room. Fans have to realize that this has nothing to do with basketball anymore, but more to do with leadership.

Powell's time should come to an end to not hold up roster spot

It's harsh to say that Powell is only holding up a roster spot, but to be fair, he hasn't played key minutes in a while. Back in the 2022-23 season, Powell played a ton in the place of Maxi Kleber, who suffered multiple injuries in his last couple of years with Dallas. Powell played an average of 19.2 minutes that season, and the reason was partially that the coaching staff was not utilizing Christian Wood properly.

Since then, he's played around 10 minutes a game, leading to the question of why Powell remains on the roster. It seems like the Mavericks want Powell to pull off a long tenure similar to Udonis Haslem, and it's only because of leadership that Powell might have the chance to do that. The Mavs had the perfect chance to let Powell go during the summer, but the Mavs didn't do that, leading us to think that he might actually be a long-term piece like Haslem was.

Powell still has a long way to go to even be in the same ballpark, but it's amazing how Jalen Brunson, Kristaps Porzingis, and Luka Doncic were on the Mavs long after Powell first appeared with the Mavs, and all three guys are gone now. He has truly seen it all.

Powell even outlasted the talks of any trade rumors involving Daniel Gafford, and in fact, Nico Harrison decided to keep both Powell and Gafford. This is great for the fanbase, but if Dallas wants another guy to compete in relevant minutes, it might just be time for Harrison to have that tough conversation with Powell.

We still have the first half of the season to go before Harrison does anything, and if he does decide to do something with Powell, it might happen the week of the trade deadline. The point is: Powell's time might just be coming to an end, and it's heartbreaking to think. It's also time to start thinking about another young power forward to get real playing minutes instead of hanging on to Powell just because.