Mavericks' rumored Dwight Powell return should be taken with a grain of salt

Before this weekend, all signs pointed to the Dallas Mavericks parting ways with Dwight Powell this summer.

He's an unrestricted free agent, and with no one signing him yet and the NBA season being exactly one month away, it seemed like he wouldn't be playing for anyone. Most teams' 15-man rosters are pretty much decided and there haven't been any reports or rumors indicating that Powell was drawing significant interest on the open market or he would be signing with someone. This changed on Saturday.

Dwight Powell could be coming back to Dallas — but probably not for long

According to NBA insider Marc Stein, the 35-year-old big man "will receive a formal training camp invite even though Dallas currently has a full roster with 15 standard NBA contracts." As Stein noted, this is the "expectation" for Powell after he was spotted with the Mavericks during their mini camp in California, but his return to the team for the preseason and training camp is far from guaranteed until proven otherwise.

Dallas does not have room for Powell on the 15-man roster as things currently stand, and they would have to waive someone to sign him to a standard contract. This seems extremely unlikely, as the Mavericks bought out Klay Thompson to create an open roster spot earlier this offseason, and waiving a player to bring back someone who wouldn't be part of the regular rotation would be a major, unnecessary risk.

Dallas has embraced the youth movement this offseason, and there isn't a single player that the team should consider waiving for Powell when going through the roster. Marcus Sasser and Dereck Lively II are the only two players whose contracts expire after the 2026-27 season, and the Mavericks' roster looks completely revamped.

The Mavericks don't have room for Powell anymore

Signing Powell to a new contract after playing with the team during the preseason would make no sense, regardless of how good a leader he is. He has played 763 games for Dallas, the fifth-most in franchise history, but this summer has seemed like it would be the end of the road for him for some time now.

The Mavericks look completely different from how they did a year ago, as they have a new head coach, coaching staff, general manager, and president of basketball operations. They also have six new players on their 15-man roster from this offseason alone.

Dallas is looking to build for the future around Cooper Flagg, and every roster spot is valuable. They can't afford to have anyone on the roster who is unplayable, and with Powell having Dereck Lively II, Daniel Gafford, and Moussa Cisse in front of him in the center rotation ahead of training camp, his route to a real role would be virtually impossible.

Powell being on the roster for training camp isn't a problem due to the leadership he can provide for the month leading up to the season, but fans shouldn't be worried that someone is going to get cut to sign him just yet. This could change over the next few weeks, but for now, Powell's return to the 15-man roster is up in the air.

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