Dwight Powell: Dallas Mavericks PF Has Star Potential
There is an old saying that states one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. And that adage definitely holds true in regards to Dwight Powell, who comes off the bench at the 4 spot for the Dallas Mavericks.
During the first half of his rookie season, Powell averaged just 1.8 points per outing in five appearances for the Boston Celtics before he was traded to the Mavericks in December 2014. And as if playing in just a handful of games prior to being traded wasn’t bad enough, no one in the Celtics front office even bothered to inform Powell that he was being traded, as he told ESPN:
"“I found out from a friend of mine back home who saw it on Twitter,” Powell said. “He was the first one that texted me, so I didn’t think it was real at first.”"
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Well, as it turns out, the trade did come to fruition, with the Mavericks giving up multiple rotation players in Jae Crowder, Brandan Wright and Jameer Nelson for Powell and Rajon Rondo. The hope was that the former All-Star point guard would help transform Dallas into a title contender.
Unfortunately for the Mavs, the marriage between the two sides was short lived. And Rondo’s time in Dallas came to an abrupt end following a back injury he sustained in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series against the Houston Rockets.
This brings us to Powell, who was the unknown variable in the five-player deal. In 24 games with the Mavericks last season, he averaged 3.4 points and 2.0 rebounds per contest on 44 percent shooting from the field. Needless to say, these were not numbers that the Mavs were overly excited about.
But during the early portion of the 2015-16 campaign, however, it has been a different story for the second-year forward. For starters, his 10.2 points-per-game average is fifth-best on the team. Secondly, he has already played more minutes this season (266) than he did his entire rookie year (236).
Furthermore, Powell is averaging a respectable 13.2 rebounds per 36 minutes, per Basketball-Reference.com; leads the team in blocks (0.75) and is second in rebounds (7.9). Along with that, the Mavs were boasting a 92.5 defensive rating when Powell is on the floor prior to last night’s game against the Celtics, which is the best mark of any rotational player on the roster.
And while Powell has a ways to go before he reaches superstar status, he is becoming a consistent scoring threat off the bench. Not only that, he finishes well around the rim and moves well without the basketball as illustrated in the above video.
Although the increase in his production has been a plus for the Mavericks, it is Powell’s work ethic that has caught the attention of teammates such as Dirk Nowitzki, who offered this assessment of Powell to ESPN:
"“The kid basically sleeps in the gym. He never goes home. It seems like every time I come in, he’s in there working, either lifting or running or shooting. He just wants to get better all the time. Now that he’s got some playing time, he’s still working harder than everybody else.”"
After being traded three times just two months into his NBA career (from the Charlotte Hornets to the Cleveland Cavaliers on draft night in 2014 and then from Cleveland to Boston in September), the Mavericks were not sure what to expect when they acquired Powell in the middle of last season.
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But thanks to being given a second chance to showcase his talents, he is proving that he has star potential, which is something that could not be said when he first joined the team.