Dwight Powell officially re-signed with Mavericks on Friday, but the team will need to take one more step to keep him on the roster, writes Mark Stein of The Stein Line (subscriber link). Dallas already has 15 players under standard contracts, so someone will need to be traded or waived to make room for the 35-year-old big man, who has spent most of his career with the Mavs.
League sources told Stein that team officials have promised Powell to “explore ways” to keep him, but that could lead to a difficult decision. Stein points out that the easiest to unload belongs to the salary Marcus Sasser ($5.2 million), Tarik Biberavich ($3 million) and Moussa Cisse ($2.2), three players the team prefers to keep.
Stein points to the 31-year-old forward Caleb Martin as another expendable player because Dallas has other options at his position, but he is owed roughly $20 million in guaranteed money over the next two years, so giving him up would be a significant expense even if the stretch clause applies to his 2027/28 salary.
Powell reportedly has a veteran minimum deal with $1 million guaranteed, which will rise to $1.5 million if he is not waived before the opening day.
Stein shares more information from around the NBA:
- Before he was exchanged for Art Lakers in july Walker Kesslerrepresentatives of Russia convinced Art Jazz that he was willing to accept his qualifying offer and become an unrestricted free agent next summer, league sources told Stein. That likely spelled the end of his tenure in Utah, which helps explain why the Jazz were so eager to move him this summer, and the generous offer from L.A. Stein adds that the Lakers were willing to pay a high price for Kesler because he was Luka DoncicThe preferred pick for a defensive anchor and because they have plenty of draft capital left after parting with just one unprotected first-round pick when they acquired Doncic from Dallas.
- Stein shares comments with Mavericks security guard Kyrie Irving promised over the weekend that the constant trade rumors would not distract his young teammates. Irving said media day that he loves playing in Dallas, and he expressed that sentiment in a session with reporters on Saturday. “Every time you ask me, I’ll tell you where we are and how we feel, but keep in mind that we have a young team. They’re very impressive.” he said. “I’m not trying to bring any BS or any rumors into the locker room. My name is in the trade factory and the other guys in the trade factory are too … there’s too much of this in this league right now. There’s too much of it. And it’s affecting people’s mental health. … In order to get the best possible team, as you want to see, we need everyone to grow in the same direction — including our fans.”
- Stein hears that the long contract standoff between Jalen Duren and Pistons could extend until Thursday, the deadline to accept his $9.6 million qualifying offer. Regarding Duren’s decision about skip today’s mediaa source briefed on the process tells Stein that league rules prohibit him from participating in any team activities until his contract is settled.
