What to Make of the Mavericks' Logjam at Power Forward

Training camp is just days away from starting for the Dallas Mavericks as they get ready for the 2026-27 season. Media day will be tomorrow, and camp should start over the weekend.

While the Mavericks have a deep roster, it may be a little too deep at power forward. How they disburse minutes to the talent at this position, especially considering that they used the 9th overall pick on another power forward, will be fascinating to watch.

This continues our series of Mavericks' position previews for the 2026-27 season. We did point guards on Saturday, shooting guards on Monday, and small forwards on Tuesday.

The Mavericks traded Anthony Davis at the trade deadline, let go of Tyler Smith from his two-way contract, traded for Santi Aldama this season, and left this year's draft with Morez Johnson Jr. and Tobi Lawal. The only holdover from last year is P.J. Washington.

Here's our preview of the power forwards.

Mar 18, 2026; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks forward P.J. Washington (25) warms up before the game against the Atlanta Hawks at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Power Forward Logjam for Dallas Mavericks

It wouldn't be surprising to see all three power forwards start games this year.

P.J. Washington is the best player of the bunch right now, but he has dealt with injuries over the last few seasons, and his three-point shooting comes and goes. He's coming off a season averaging 14.2 PPG and 7.0 RPG, but he shot just 32.5% from three and only appeared in 56 games.

For the Mavericks to hit their ceiling, Washington needs to be shooting at least 36% from three, as that will allow the space needed for Cooper Flagg and Kyrie Irving to operate.

The shooting ability could allow Santi Aldama to see significant playing time. The Mavericks acquired him in a trade with the Memphis Grizzlies, and he's the best shooter of this bunch, shooting around 36% from deep for his career.

Aldama offers center versatility, which could allow for some fun lineups, but he's strong enough as a defender on the perimeter to play power forward.

However, the best defender of the group should be Morez Johnson Jr., the 9th overall pick of the 2026 NBA Draft, who is coming off a national championship at Michigan. His lack of perimeter offensive skills may keep him from spending too much time at power forward and more time as a small-ball center.

Johnson does have his college coach as his head NBA coach now, as Dusty May also came from Michigan. That could influence a little bit of playing time, and if they need to get a stop, they could throw out a frontline of Cooper Flagg, Morez Johnson Jr., and Dereck Lively II (once he's healthy), and that'll be hard to score on.

Cooper Flagg and Naji Marshall could also see time at power forward this year, as they did last season.

Second-round pick Tobi Lawal is on a two-way contract, but he may not get many NBA minutes unless there are injuries here. He's a super athletic forward, but his perimeter game needs a lot of work, and he's not quite big enough to play center in the NBA as he often did at Virginia Tech.

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