Why would Dallas Mavericks want to get involved in this trade?
Dwight Powell put together a solid 2018-19 season a few years back, averaging 10.6 points and 5.3 rebounds, but since then, his numbers and minutes have declined as a result of him rupturing his right Achilles tendon in January 2020.
The 30-year-old big man is still trying to work his way back up to full-speed since the injury, but the Dallas Mavericks have way too many centers on their roster right now.
Willie Cauley-Stein, Moses Brown, Boban Marjanovic, and Kristaps Porzingis are the four other big men on this Mavericks roster along with Dwight Powell, which is why they would be smart to look and move Powell’s contract.
Powell being owed $11M each of the next two seasons is not favorable to Dallas whatsoever right now, especially after they just gave Luka Doncic and Tim Hardaway Jr. new, long-term contracts.
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Getting involved in this deal with Orlando and Houston gives the Mavericks an opportunity to address one of their biggest problems right now — having no secondary ball-handler next to Doncic. D.J. Augustin may be 33-years-old and nothing more than a bench player now, but he is a really reliable presence that oftentimes has flown under the radar in this league.
For his career, D.J. Augustin has averaged 9.7 points, 4.0 assists, and has shot 37.9% from three-point range, including 38.2% from deep last season with both Milwaukee and Houston. Jalen Brunson is a young, solid backup option on the Dallas Mavericks bench, but they need another experienced guy who they can depend on for backcourt production.
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They should look no further than Augustin to get the job done, not only because of his experiences around the league, but because his $7M contract can easily be absorbed into Dallas’ $10.8M TPE they have from trading Josh Richardson to the Boston Celtics earlier in the offseason.
Plus, Augustin’s contract is only partially guaranteed for $333K next season, so they could easily waive him next offseason to save cap space should they decide to do so.
Moving Dwight Powell for D.J. Augustin not only gives the Dallas Mavericks what they need in another secondary ball-handler, but they free up some cap space moving forward since Augustin’s contract could end up being way cheaper than Dwight Powell’s entering next offseason.
