Newest Maverick's sudden rise puts beloved veteran's future in serious doubt

The Dallas Mavericks choked away one of their more sure-fire games in recent memory, as Dallas fell to the Indiana Pacers 135-131 after being up seven points with just over a minute left in the contest. A series of missed free throws, bad turnovers, and general inexperience led the Mavericks to lose in this contest, and now the Mavericks have fallen out of the play-in race for the time being with the Phoenix Suns overtaking them for the 10th seed in the Western Conference after a win against the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday night.

With skepticism arising as to whether the Mavericks should try and bring back Anthony Davis in their last 12 games or not, the Mavericks could get an extended look at one young big man that was a huge bright spot for them in this loss. In only his second game with the Mavericks after signing a two-way contract, Kai Jones scored 18 points on 8-9 shooting from the field and grabbed 11 rebounds.

Jones played his role to a tee and brings great energy to the game every time he checks in. He’s strong and wiry with freak athleticism, and he’s shown some handle and finishing ability that hint at an expanding offensive repertoire. Jones is a solid rim protector even though he doesn’t have elite-level size, and his nonstop effort shows up in multiple ways beyond the stat sheet. 

Dallas should choose Kai Jones over Dwight Powell this offseason

Dallas’ big man rotation is as fragmented as ever right now, but once Dallas’ bigs all get fully healthy, it’d be in the Mavericks’ best interest to slot Jones ahead of veteran center Dwight Powell in Dallas’ rotation. 

Powell has a player option coming up this summer in regard to if he wants to exercise the last season of his three-year $12 million contract with the Mavericks, and while there’s a good chance Powell takes the money in this instance, Dallas could opt to trade him elsewhere ahead of the start of next season or eventually waive him.

With Jones’ emergence, it’s redundant to have so many centers on the roster, and Powell would be the odd man out of the rotation definitively if all of Dallas’ bigs were healthy. The Mavericks will still need to sign Jones to a standard deal for the rest of the season once April 10 rolls around if they want the best shot at securing his services beyond this season though.

Jones would have a much higher chance of coming to terms with the Mavericks on a new deal if he closes the season with them compared to if he became a free agent or signed elsewhere to close the season.

Jones has rightfully earned a standard deal at this point of his career and he’s proven that he’s better in nearly all facets compared to Powell. Powell has been a tried and true veteran leader who has displayed great character and leadership for Dallas since he’s been here, but with his impact on the court becoming more negligible than it ever has and Powell turning 34 years old this summer, it’s time for Dallas to move on from him.

There’s no point in carrying five active centers on the roster in Dallas’ instance, as their biggest strength next season projects to come from their frontcourt defense, and the Mavericks could figure out a far better way to utilize Powell’s roster spot.

If Jones signs elsewhere and Dallas can’t retain his services, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to bring back Powell, but the Mavericks seem to have found a diamond in the rough with the 24-year-old Jones. Jones may have dealt with some criticism in regard to some of his offseason videos posted on social media last summer, but these concerns in regard to his mental health have been completely swept under the rug given his solid stints on two -way contracts with the Mavericks and LA Clippers this season.

All of Dallas’ two-way signees at this point in the season have shown enough to be considered full-time NBA players, but it’s unlikely Dallas retains all three of their current two-way prospects beyond this season. If they do though, Jones and Brandon Williams need to be prioritized the most this offseason in terms of signing them to a standard deal, as they are both players that could play contributing roles at positions of dire need on this roster next season.

Even though Dallas has three other elite bigs besides Jones, Dallas’ bigs’ injury history has been rough, and Jones is a far better fourth body to keep around for rotation purposes compared to Powell at this stage in his career.