<\/p>\n
Dallas Mavericks forward\/center Dwight Powell (7) poses during media day on Friday, Sept. 25, 2026 at American Airlines Center in Dallas.<\/p>\n
Shafkat Anowar\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n
The Mavericks<\/a> have completed six training camp practices in the span of seven days and will take their preparations for the looming regular season abroad as they travel to Macao for the 2026 NBA China<\/a> games.<\/p>\n There are two weeks left until rosters are finalized, but the Mavericks have the maximum of 15 standard contracts that NBA teams can carry into the regular season, leaving the future of veteran center Dwight\u00a0Powell<\/a> under a microscope.<\/p>\n Powell is on a non-guaranteed training camp contract worth $3.8 million and his status is uncertain because of the team\u2019s logjam at the center position. He joins a group of traditional centers that includes\u00a0Dereck Lively II<\/a>, Daniel Gafford<\/a> and Moussa Cisse<\/a>, whose contract of $2.2 million became guaranteed for the 2026-27 season. The Mavericks also have a pair of combo bigs in rookie Morez Johnson Jr.<\/a> and Santi Aldama<\/a>.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n If Powell solidifies a spot on the Mavericks\u2019 opening day roster on the deadline of Oct. 19, then he will claim sole possession of the second-most seasons in franchise history with 13, breaking a three-way tie of 12 seasons he holds with Derek Harper<\/a> and Brad Davis<\/a>. That trio trails only Dirk\u00a0Nowitzki<\/a>, whose 21 seasons in Dallas\u00a0is an NBA record for the most consecutive seasons played with a single team \u2013 a mark that appears safe unless Stephen Curry plays another four seasons with the Golden State Warriors.<\/p>\n Powell holds value in the locker room for his veteran leadership, while providing energy and effort in practices and games.<\/p>\n “Dwight could be a coach,” said Mavericks coach Dusty May. “He makes everyone around him better.\u00a0He’s exactly what we need as far as him being able to connect, screen, do the dirty work, the winning plays that every team needs.”<\/p>\n The Mavericks could be forced into a difficult decision if they choose to keep their longest tenured player in the only uniform he\u2019s worn since he was acquired in a trade with Boston in 2014. Powell\u2019s retention will require Dallas to either waive or trade a player to solve their roster crunch.<\/p>\n Here are three candidates the Mavericks could choose to part ways with to hold on to\u00a0Powell:<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Tarik Biberovic<\/p>\n Dallas Mavericks forward Tarik Biberovic poses during media day on Friday, Sept. 25, 2026 at American Airlines Center in Dallas.<\/p>\n Shafkat Anowar\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n The Mavericks entered the offseason with a drastic need to acquire more 3-point shooting. They traded for Aldama, Marcus Sasser and the draft rights to\u00a0Biberovic<\/a>\u00a0in a massive six-team trade to address that weakness. The EuroLeague sharpshooter was drafted by Memphis in 2023, but said this summer was the right time to finally make the transition to the NBA because he\u2019s mentally prepared despite other offers.<\/p>\n \u201cThe staff also knew what I gave up and what I leave behind me,\u201d Biberovic said Friday. \u201cThey know I didn\u2019t come here just to be happy or just to be part of the team, just to be an NBA player. That was one of my first goals when I was in Europe. I never wanted to be the guy who just came in the NBA just to say he was in the NBA. I came here to make an impact.\u201d<\/p>\n Biberovic is owed $3 million this season, but it sounds like he is in alignment with the Mavericks\u2019 front office and doesn\u2019t have plans to leave the franchise three months after his massive transition to the\u00a0NBA.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Caleb Martin<\/p>\n Dallas Mavericks forward Caleb Martin (16) poses during media day on Friday, Sept. 25, 2026 at American Airlines Center in Dallas.<\/p>\n Shafkat Anowar\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n Martin<\/a> enters this season as healthy as he\u2019s been during his 1.5 seasons in Dallas, but he figures to be on the back end of the crowded small forward rotation. He recently turned 31, making him the third-oldest on the roster after Powell (35) and Kyrie Irving<\/a> (34).<\/p>\n The eighth-year forward averaged a career-low 3.9 points and 2.5 rebounds last season and is owed $19.3 million over the next two seasons, which includes a player option for the 2027-28 season. That number and stipulation makes it a hurdle for the Mavericks to trade or waive Martin.<\/p>\n Marcus Sasser<\/p>\n Dallas Mavericks guard Marcus Sasser poses during media day on Friday, Sept. 25, 2026 at American Airlines Center in Dallas.<\/p>\n Shafkat Anowar\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n The Mavericks may be well-stocked at the forward and center position, but they are quite thin at the point guard spot. Irving will retain his role as the Mavericks’ starting floor general, with\u00a0Sasser<\/a> and Sergio De Larrea<\/a> as secondary options off the bench.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Sasser enters a new opportunity in his hometown of Dallas after spending the first three years of his career in Detroit. He’s an elite shooter and can create his own scoring opportunities, but also has the potential to be a formidable defender despite his size at 6-foot-2. May recently lauded Sasser’s ability to make an impact without the ball.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve been impressed with his cutting,” May said. “He\u2019s been a real contributor when he wasn\u2019t even directly involved in the play. He\u2019s had a lot of those hidden plays that really make the team go. His shooting, his decision-making has been very sound, and defensively, he played at Houston, so we know we\u2019re going to get his best effort.\u201d<\/p>\n Moussa Cisse<\/p>\n Dallas Mavericks center Moussa Cisse (30) poses during media day on Friday, Sept. 25, 2026 at American Airlines Center in Dallas.<\/p>\n Shafkat Anowar\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n The Mavericks let their affinity for Cisse be publicly known in July, when they matched the two-year offer sheet offered by the New York Knicks. The second step to that pledge was official Thursday, as the Mavericks let the deadline pass to guarantee Cisse’s contract.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The second-year center proved to be valuable last season despite playing under 14 minutes per game last season. He used his athleticism and defensive prowess to average 4.5 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.2 blocks as a rookie. The 6-foot-11 center made a profound statement in the regular season finale with 17 points and 20 rebounds on April 12.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Dallas Mavericks forward\/center Dwight Powell (7) poses during media day on Friday, Sept. 25, 2026 at American Airlines…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":456942,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[732,102,104,103,111534,115761],"class_list":["post-456941","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-dallas","tag-article","tag-dallas","tag-dallas-headlines","tag-dallas-news","tag-tp-kyrie-irving","tag-tp-dirk-nowitzki"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/456941","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=456941"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/456941\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/456942"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=456941"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=456941"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=456941"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/p>\n
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