Mavericks Make Familiar Signing Before Training Camp

DALLAS — The Dallas Mavericks signed center Dwight Powell on Friday, bringing their 2026-27 training camp roster to 19 players. The team announced the move the morning of its media day at American Airlines Center and did not disclose terms, per team policy.

Dallas already carries 15 players on standard contracts and three on two-way deals, which leaves Powell as the only player in camp outside those 18 contracts. The Mavericks would need to create a roster spot to sign to a standard contract.

Powell, 35, is the longest-tenured player on the roster. Across 12 NBA seasons with the Boston Celtics and Dallas, he has career averages of 6.5 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 1.0 assists in 17.5 minutes over 768 games, 266 of them starts.

On the Mavericks’ all-time lists, Powell ranks fourth in field goal percentage at .606. His 763 games with Dallas rank fifth in franchise history. He is sixth in total rebounds with 3,251, and his 330 blocks rank 10th.

Dwight Powell Returns To A Full Dallas Mavericks Roster

Powell was among players who participated with the Mavericks at a Los Angeles minicamp led by Kyrie Irving. He became an unrestricted free agent after his three-year, $12 million contract ran out in July 2023. He exercised a $4 million player option to stay for 2025-26, then appeared in 63 games with 12 starts last season. He averaged 3.3 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 1.1 assists in 14.3 minutes and shot 64.4% from the field.

The Mavericks got down to 15 standard contracts on Aug. 21, when they announced a buyout with Klay Thompson. Thompson signed with the Miami Heat after clearing waivers. Of the 15 remaining deals, center Moussa Cissé holds the only 2026-27 salary that is not fully guaranteed. He cleared his first guarantee date on Sept. 1, locking in $1.1 million of his $2,185,116 salary, and the rest guarantees Oct. 1 if Dallas does not waive him before then.

The camp roster lists Powell, Cissé, Daniel Gafford, and Dereck Lively II at center. Rookie Morez Johnson Jr. is listed at forward-center, and the 7-0 Santi Aldama is listed at forward.

Boston traded Powell to Dallas in December 2014, during his rookie season, after he came out of Stanford as the 45th overall pick in that year’s draft. He tore his right Achilles tendon on Jan. 21, 2020, and was back the following season. In 2024, Powell was part of the Dallas team that reached the NBA Finals and lost to Boston in five games.

How The Dallas Mavericks Built Their 19-Player Camp Roster

Mavericks coach Dusty May opens his first season with 19 players in camp. Dallas hired May on June 22, a day before the draft, and his staff includes assistants Willie Green, Garrett Temple, Joe Boylan, Drew Williamson, Mody Moar, Rob Fodor, and Sam Hershberger.

Three players on the roster came through the draft. Dallas took Cooper Flagg first overall in 2025. In June, the Mavericks used the ninth overall pick on Johnson and the 48th pick on Tobi Lawal, who is on a two-way contract.

Most of the offseason additions came by trade. On June 24, Dallas acquired the draft rights to Sergio De Larrea from the Los Angeles Lakers in a four-team deal that also involved the New York Knicks and Phoenix Suns. A six-team trade on July 8 brought Marcus Sasser from the Detroit Pistons, along with Aldama and the rights to Tarik Biberović from the Memphis Grizzlies. Eleven days later, Zaccharie Risacher arrived from the Atlanta Hawks in a three-team trade that also included the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Dallas kept Cissé in July by matching a two-year, $4.7 million offer sheet from New York. Naji Marshall signed a multi-year contract extension Aug. 2. Jett Howard signed a two-way contract July 20, and John Poulakidas has been on a two-way deal since Feb. 28.

The rest of the roster carried over from last season. Irving re-signed July 6, 2025, and Gafford and P.J. Washington Jr. signed extensions that summer. Dallas acquired Max Christie from the Lakers on Feb. 2, 2025, in the trade that sent Luka Dončić to Los Angeles, and got Caleb Martin from the Philadelphia 76ers two days later. Lively joined in 2023, when Dallas acquired his draft rights from Oklahoma City.

Irving tore the ACL in his left knee against the Sacramento Kings on March 3, 2025, and has not played in an NBA game since. Dallas ruled him out for the 2025-26 season on Feb. 18.

The Mavericks play the Houston Rockets at The Venetian Arena in Macao on Oct. 9 and Oct. 11 as part of the NBA China Games. They close the preseason at home against the New Orleans Pelicans on Oct. 14 and the Hawks on Oct. 16, with tip-off for both at 7 p.m. CT. Opening-night rosters are due Oct. 19 at 4 p.m. CT, and Dallas opens the regular season at Houston on Oct. 21 at 7:30 p.m. CT.