Dwight Powell Gives Up His Trade Veto to Stay a Maverick, and Now Dallas Has a Real Roster Squeeze Before Opening Night

By Marcus Delaney, RF Sports Radio Mavericks voice

Mavs Nation, Kyrie Irving's return was Sunday morning's headline. By Sunday night, the most interesting Mavericks story was about the last spot on the roster.

The facts

Marc Stein reported in his newsletter late Sunday that Dwight Powell has agreed to give up the trade veto his contract carries, as long as he makes the regular-season roster, per WhyNBA. Because Powell re-signed on a one-year deal, league rules would normally let him block any trade this season. Under this arrangement, Dallas could move him after Dec. 25. Powell returned on Sept. 25 on a one-year deal worth about $3.88 million with a partial guarantee, per TalkBasket, and he's entering his 13th season as the franchise's longest-tenured player since Dirk Nowitzki.

The problem is math. WhyNBA notes Dallas already has 15 other players on standard contracts, so keeping Powell takes a trade or a waiver. The obvious name is center Moussa Cisse. Dallas matched a Knicks offer sheet for Cisse in July, then let his $2.2 million salary become fully guaranteed by keeping him past Oct. 1. Stein wrote that releasing Cisse "all seemed highly unlikely ... until hearing May gush about Powell's play." Cisse averaged 4.5 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.2 blocks in 38 games last season, per TalkBasket. Powell averaged 3.3 points and 4.1 rebounds in 63 games and shot 64.4%. In Sunday's 132-115 win over Houston in Macao, Powell had three points, five rebounds and two assists in about 15 minutes and was plus-14, per WhyNBA. Dereck Lively II is still recovering from foot surgery, which makes extra size more valuable.

There's a bigger-picture note, too. ESPN's Brian Windhorst reported that GM Masai Ujiri "has made it clear that the franchise is committed to keeping Irving with Flagg," per Basketnews, even as rival front offices question whether Dallas can stick to that plan.

RF Sports Radio's take (opinion)

My take: keep Powell, and don't apologize for it. If this team is built to win now around a 34-year-old Kyrie and a rising Cooper Flagg, the 15th man should be somebody Dusty May trusts in a playoff-style possession, not a project. Cisse is 24 and has real upside, and I'd rather find a trade than cut him. But $2.2 million in dead money is a small price for a center who knows every coverage and sets every screen. Powell giving up his veto is the tell. He's betting on himself, and he's handing the front office an exit ramp at the deadline if things change. That's a pro move.

My call: Powell makes the opening-night roster, and Dallas opens the spot with a small consolidation trade instead of a straight release. If no deal shows up before the cut-down, I think Cisse is the one who goes. That's my prediction, not a report.

What to watch next

The Mavericks are home against New Orleans on Wednesday, Oct. 14, at 7 p.m. Central, then play again at American Airlines Center on Oct. 16 before the opener Oct. 21 in Houston. Watch the center minutes. If Powell keeps outplaying Cisse in those two games, the decision makes itself. Catch up on our recap of Kyrie Irving's 17-point return in Macao, and keep up on the Dallas Mavericks page.

Radio question: Powell or Cisse for the last roster spot, and would you eat the money to keep the veteran?

Sources: WhyNBA — Dwight Powell gives up trade veto as he fights for a Mavericks roster spot; TalkBasket — Mavericks could waive Moussa Cisse to keep Dwight Powell; Basketnews — Kyrie Irving future in Dallas gets major update.