Mavs Injury Update: Can Max Christie & Santi Aldama Play In Opener?

DALLAS — Max Christie practiced Monday and is in line to play in the Dallas Mavericks' opener Wednesday. Santi Aldama did contact work but did not go through a full practice.

Mavericks coach Dusty May gave both updates two days before Dallas visits the Houston Rockets at Toyota Center. Tip-off is 7:30 p.m. CT.

Christie sat out Friday's preseason finale against Atlanta, and May did not give a reason at the time. He had 14 points in both games against Houston in Macao and started the 101-97 home loss to New Orleans on Oct. 14.

He practiced Monday.

“Max was cleared,” May said. “He had a mileage limit, but we went under that.”

Last season, Christie set a career high with 12.3 points per game. He played 77 games and made 40.4% of his 3-point attempts.

Dallas waived Dwight Powell on Monday, ending a 12-season run. Powell had re-signed on a non-guaranteed contract Sept. 25. The move brought Dallas to 15 standard contracts ahead of the league's roster deadline.

Powell averaged 6.5 points over his 12 seasons with the Mavericks.

Moussa Cissé, a second-year center, stays on the roster. He came to Dallas as an undrafted free agent in 2025 on a two-way contract, which was converted to a standard deal by the end of his rookie season. He tweaked his left ankle against New Orleans on Oct. 14.

Cissé puts pressure on the rim as a roller, May said.

“Improving, getting his lower body stronger,” May explained. “He's made strides. He puts pressure on the rim as a rim-roller. He's eager. He's in here working. Just continue with the upward trajectory of getting better, especially with injuries and things like that, the opportunity should be there for him to get some game minutes.”

Dereck Lively II will not play Wednesday. He has not been medically cleared after surgery on his right foot in December, and his last game was Nov. 21, 2025. Lively has appeared in 98 of a possible 246 regular-season games across his three seasons.

The 5 p.m. CT deadline for rookie-scale extensions passed Monday with no new deal for Lively. He will earn $7,239,131 in the final year of his rookie contract. Marcus Sasser, who made his preseason debut Friday, also did not sign an extension and will earn $5,198,983.

Both can become restricted free agents next summer if Dallas extends qualifying offers.

Aldama did not appear in any of the four preseason games. Dallas got him in a six-team trade on July 8 after five seasons with the Memphis Grizzlies. A March 17 arthroscopic procedure on the right knee ended his 2025-26 season.

In 43 games for Memphis last season, he set career highs with 14.0 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 2.9 assists per game.

Aldama has made strides, May said.

“He did some activity with bodies, but it wasn't a full practice,” May said.

On Sunday, May said he did not know yet whether Aldama would play Wednesday.