DALLAS — Mavericks coach Dusty May said Wednesday that the decision on whether Dwight Powell makes the Dallas Mavericks’ opening-night roster belongs to team president Masai Ujiri and general manager Mike Schmitz.
May spoke before Dallas hosted the New Orleans Pelicans in its third preseason game at American Airlines Center.
Dallas signed Powell on Sept. 25, the morning of media day, and did not disclose terms. The Mavericks were already carrying 15 standard contracts and three two-way deals at the time, leaving Powell as the only player in camp outside those 18 contracts.
Dusty May Praises Dwight Powell As Front Office Weighs Decision
Powell came off the bench in Friday’s 135-117 loss to the Houston Rockets in Macao and finished with 1 point and 8 assists in 13 minutes.
May said Dallas has functioned well with Powell on the floor.
“Those questions I can’t answer. You just spoke of Masai and Mike Schmitz. Those are the decisions those guys make based on information that they get from the staff, from their eyes,” May said. “Dwight has been very valuable so far to us. I think it’s evident, when he’s on the floor, we function well.”
“It’s been a joy to get to know him and be around him. As far as, I try to stay out of that fray, deciding those types of things,” May continued. “But Dwight, he’s been very, very good for us.”
On the day Powell signed, Marc Stein of The Stein Line reported that Dallas had not ruled out trying to create a roster spot for him. Creating that spot would mean waiving or trading a player on a standard contract.
May said he will give his opinion, as will the rest of his coaching staff, but the final call rests elsewhere.
“Of course I’ll have an opinion on everything that we do,” May explained. “And as far as how much that’s weighed, I mean, I think that’s what any great working relationship, everyone’s going to, my staff, I have a big staff, and they all give their opinion, but it still comes down to the decision makers making the decisions.”
Mavericks Carry 15 Standard Contracts Into Final Preseason Week
When camp opened, Moussa Cissé held the only 2026-27 salary among Dallas’ 15 standard deals that was not fully guaranteed.
The rest of his $2,185,116 salary became guaranteed when the Mavericks kept him past Oct. 1. May started Cissé at center Wednesday.
Powell, 35, is the longest-tenured player on the roster. Charlotte selected him 45th overall out of Stanford in the 2014 NBA Draft before trading his draft rights to Cleveland. He later landed with Boston, which traded him to Dallas in December 2014 during his rookie season.
Over 768 career games, Powell has averaged 6.5 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 1.0 assists.
His .606 field goal percentage ranks fourth in franchise history. The 763 games he has played for Dallas are the fifth-most by any Maverick.
Last season, Powell appeared in 63 games with 12 starts and averaged 3.3 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 1.1 assists while shooting 64.4% from the field.
Dallas closes the preseason Friday against the Atlanta Hawks at 7 p.m. CT. Opening-night rosters are due Oct. 19 at 4 p.m. CT, two days before the Mavericks open the regular season at Houston at 7:30 p.m. CT.
