Big Move for Mavs Center Dwight Powell?

Dwight Powell started in 71 of 82 games for the Dallas Mavericks last season.

This offseason, the Dallas Mavericks experienced a variety of changes. The team started the summer by trading for Houston Rockets big man Christian Wood. 

A week later, Dallas lost its second-best player Jalen Brunson for basically nothing. 

But could one of the Mavs' key changes lie at center? 

In July, the team signed JaVale McGee to a three-year contract, with the intent of being the starter. 

On ESPN, coach Jason Kidd announced that with Brunson gone, Dallas was "going to be a bigger team," and that their "starting five is going to be big with JaVale starting at the center."

So what does this mean for Dwight Powell? Could he excel off the bench? 

Mavs.com reporter Eddie Sefko answers the latter. 

"He’s been effective coming off the bench," Sefko wrote. "In 2018-19, when he averaged 10.6 points and 5.3 rebounds in 21 minutes per game, he came off the bench in 55 of the 77 games in which he appeared."

During the 2017-2018 season, Powell provided quality minutes off the bench. In 55 games, he averaged 8.5 points and 5.6 rebounds, on 59.3-percent shooting. 

Some key attributes include his ability to take "hard knock shots to the face," and "willingness to stick his nose into the grinder defensively and roll hard to the basket on offense," according to Sefko. 

In pick-and-roll plays last season, Powell shot 71.2 percent and scored 2.8 points per possession. His ability to maneuver off screens with Luka Doncic helped create a variety of scoring opportunities. 

"He has everybody’s respect when it comes to putting in the work and being able to get the most out of his abilities," Sefko wrote. "The hope is that he can transfer those skills into being an energizer off the bench." 

With Tim Hardaway Jr., Maxi Kleber and Josh Green already likely coming off the bench, Powell could be another valuable piece. 

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