Dallas’s longest-tenured veteran returns to camp as the roster hits capacity, forcing the front office to weigh historic loyalty against a looming crunch for guaranteed spots.
Almost inevitably, Dwight Powell is still a member of the Dallas Mavericks.
The free-agent big man has been re-signed by the Mavs as training camp begins next week.
Powell, the longest-tenured veteran on the team, still faces a cloudy future in Dallas as the Mavericks have the maximum 15 standard NBA contracts on the team.
Insider Marc Stein reports that Dallas "has not ruled out trying to create a roster spot for him."
Powell is the only training camp attendee who is not among Dallas 15 standard and three two-way contracts.
Here is a full look at the 2026-27 training camp roster for the Mavs:
Dallas Mavericks training camp roster, via @TheSteinLine/XPowell has spent the majority of his 12-year career in Dallas after his trade from the Boston Celtics as a rookie in the 2014-15 season.
Last year, Powell averaged 3.3 points and 4.1 rebounds in 14.3 minutes per game across 63 appearances (12 starts).
In December, a Mavericks fan account on X/Twitter reported an exclusive scoop that Powell, 35, was "likely" to retire after the season as he was on the final year of his contract.
Mavs minority owner Mark Cuban has been with Powell every step of the way in Dallas. He responded to the buzz online with a simple message to shut down the rumors:
"Not true," Cuban wrote.
Then again, Cuban hasn't had his fingerprints on the basketball decisions with the Mavs since before Nico Harrison was let go as general manager. But if anybody were to get intel on Powell's decision, it would've been the only other person with as deep of ties to the organization.
With no free-agent traction, Powell avoids being the eighth member of last year's roster to leave the organization. Most recently, the Mavericks bought out veteran guard Klay Thompson, who signed with the Miami Heat.
Powell ranks fifth in Mavericks history in games played with 763 - behind Dirk Nowitzki, Brad Davis, Derek Harper and Rolando Blackman. Powell is sixth in Mavs history in rebounds, fourth in career field-goal percentage and third in career two-point field goal percentage.
While a folk hero across his more than a decade of service to the Mavericks, Powell is treading through murky waters in determining his Dallas - and NBA - future.
But he'll at least be taking part in training camp.
