Mavericks can't afford to make Caleb Martin's contract even more costly

In a rather surprising turn of events, the Dallas Mavericks signed Dwight Powell and are reportedly considering retaining the longtime veteran on the regular-season roster. Nonetheless, after signing Powell, Dallas is at 16 players on standard deals, meaning one would have to go for the 35-year-old to stick around. And while wing Caleb Martin is the obvious choice, he's someone Dallas can't afford to release.

Okay, okay, it's not all that surprising. After all, Powell is fifth all-time in games played, sixth in rebounds, and even eighth in win shares among Mavericks. Yet, despite the career accolades, the elder statesman is no longer an impact player. He's played fewer than 1,000 minutes in each of the past three seasons and has been relegated to an end-of-the-bench role as he enters the twilight years of his NBA career.

But on the flip side, Powell has been an important voice; he's well-respected; and he's always ready to contribute. There's a case for retaining Powell — it's just that there's no clear avenue to do so.

Keeping Dwight Powell creates a roster crunch

Dallas has a few players they can cut ties with relatively cheaply, including Tarik Biberovic, Marcus Sasser, and Moussa Cisse. Biberovic is guaranteed only $3 million, Sasser is owed $5.2 million, and Cisse's salary is only half-guaranteed at $1.1 million.

However, the three players mentioned above all offer Dallas more value than Martin. Biberovic is particularly enticing, as he's never played a second in the NBA. Moreover, he's a proven sniper who adds much-needed spacing to a drab Dallas offense. Sasser is another proven shooter who adds much-needed guard depth to a roster that lacks ball-handling. Lastly, Cisse is a low-maintenance big man with an affordable salary, making him an obvious player worth retaining.

Cutting Caleb Martin comes with a costly catch

Martin, on the other hand, is a bit redundant on a Mavericks roster flush with wings. While he's a good defender, he's not necessarily a floor spacer and has struggled since arriving in Dallas at the 2024 trade deadline.

Still, that doesn't mean Dallas should just let go of Martin. There's still something called a contract that the Mavericks must uphold, and Martin is owed roughly $19.4 million guaranteed over this season and the next. Yes, Dallas can waive him by utilizing the waive-and-stretch provision, but that would mean his contract would be spread across the next five years. That means paying Martin almost $4 million per season not to be in Dallas. Is that worth it to keep Powell for another season? Um… no.

Martin's contract is bad enough as is, but waiving and stretching him solely to retain Powell would make it that much worse. Powell provides value, yes, but not in the traditional sense. He's not a player who's worthy of keeping around, especially at this stage in his career on a team that's skewing younger. Dallas can't afford to make Martin's contract more costly than it already is, and waiving him to keep Powell would do exactly that.

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