Dallas Mavericks center Dwight Powell is exercising his $4 million player option for the 2025-26 season, league sources told NBA insider Marc Stein on Friday.
Powell had until next Tuesday to decide on the third year of his $12 million contract with the Mavs. The 33-year-old big man will now return for what will be his 12th season with Dallas.
Sources say Powell will likely take on a mentoring role for Cooper Flagg, who’s expected to be the No. 1 overall pick in the upcoming draft. The Mavs are eyeing Flagg, and team officials reportedly had dinner with the Duke star this week.
This mentorship makes perfect sense.
Powell has played under head coach Jason Kidd since 2021, making him the perfect veteran to help Flagg adjust to Kidd’s system as the rookie enters the league.
Powell’s journey with Dallas has been a long one. He wasn’t even originally a Maverick – he was drafted by Charlotte and traded to Boston before landing in Dallas during his rookie season back in 2014-15.
Since then, he’s become a fixture in the organization.
He’s appeared in 700 regular-season games (254 as a starter) and played in 44 playoff contests for the team. That puts him fifth in franchise history for games played, behind only legends like Dirk Nowitzki, Brad Davis, Derek Harper, and Rolando Blackman.
His on-court role has diminished recently, though. Powell averaged career-lows across the board this season – just 2.1 points, 2.1 rebounds and 10 minutes per game in his 55 appearances.
He’ll likely continue in a limited playing role next season, sitting behind Anthony Davis, Derek Lively II, and Daniel Gafford on the depth chart.
The Mavericks are hoping for better luck with injuries next season. The team was absolutely hammered by health issues in 2024-25, ranking among the league’s top five in games missed.
How bad was it? Dallas used 47 different starting lineups – tied for the fourth most by any team since the NBA started tracking starters in 1970-71.
Players missed a combined 363 games, nearly double from the previous season.
The injury bug hit early and often. Davis suffered a left adductor strain in his very first game with the team, and Kyrie Irving tore his ACL just a month later. The two stars barely shared the court, playing just 48 possessions together.
Other key players like PJ Washington, Lively, and Gafford also missed significant time with various injuries.
Having a reliable veteran like Powell around provides valuable stability as the team looks to bounce back next season.
