NBA: Ranking all 30 starting centers for 2019-20

Dwight Powell of the Dallas Mavericks will likely never be higher on this list than he is right now, but his presence in the top half of these rankings is an example of how there can be a confluence of player, organization and opportunity.

After backing up the bigs in Dallas for most of the last four seasons, Powell got an opportunity after DeAndre Jordan was traded to the New York Knicks in the deal to bring Kristaps Porzingis to Dallas and he enters this season as the clear No. 1 option at the 5 for the Mavs.

That said, the journeyman is likely much more of a placeholder than a piece of the future for the young Mavericks.

Last season Powell, averaged 10.6 points and 5.3 rebounds in 21.6 minutes per game, shooting 59.7 percent overall while attempting to stretch his range. But he made just 30.7 percent on 1.6 attempts per game from 3-point range, so that is still a work in progress.

Powell started the last 22 games he played in last season, and 22 of Dallas’ final 23 games overall, and put up a respectable 14.7 points, 7.6 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 30.9 minutes per game, while shooting 64.6 percent overall and heating up to 44.4 percent on 2.0 3-point tries a night.

Powell will likely still get the bulk of the minutes at the 5, with newly signed backup Boban Marjanovic likely never going to be more than a 15-minute-a-night guy.

But he is another player who doesn’t have the rebounding pedigree to match his 6-foot-11, 250-pound frame, getting 9.1 percent of available offensive rebounds and only 17.3 percent of the defensive boards out there last season.

But he can finish around the rack, shooting 79.7 percent at the rim with 99 dunks, and Dallas was 3.4 points better per 100 possessions with Powell out there.