
Despite the Dallas Mavericks missing the playoffs three consecutive years now, they remain a team with a very bright future and plenty of serviceable young pieces. One of those players is big man Dwight Powell, who has produced off the bench over the past few seasons for Dallas.
With one season remaining on his current deal, Powell could opt out of the final year of his current contract and hit free agency but that doesn’t seem like the path he wants to take. According to Dallas Morning News’ Brad Townsend, Powell plans to opt in to the final year of his deal in 2019 and then sign an extension with Dallas.
Told by reliable source that, contrary to Yahoo report last month, Dwight Powell plans to opt in and play for the Mavs at $10.2M next season and sign sign an extension after July 5. No wonder Powell spoke so certainly of remaining a Mav. Has until June 29 to make it official.
— Brad Townsend (@townbrad) June 6, 2019
Despite their lack of success recently, the Mavs have formed a solid nucleus of young talent, led by rookie standout Luka Doncic. While Dwight Powell isn’t considered by many to be an up and coming star, he is a serviceable role player who knows when to pick his spots and is going to be relied upon more than ever with Kristaps Porzingis also now a Maverick.
Porzingis’ struggles with injury have been well-documented and Powell will likely be the primary beneficiary when the Latvian star misses time. Powell has shown the ability to hold down the fort even as a starter though, starting a quarter of the Mavs’ games over the past two seasons.
Even with the midseason trade for Porzingis, Powell’s value around Dallas is higher than ever considering the injury woes and now off-court problems Porzingis continues to battle through. Powell averaged a respectable 10.6 points per game while grabbing 5.3 rebounds last season. 2019 will be a big season for Powell’s career, who hopes to sign an extension with Dallas regardless.