Dwight Powell signs with Fenerbahce for the season, his first job outside Dallas after 12 NBA years

Dwight Powell is heading to Istanbul. Fenerbahce announced on Friday, October 30, that the veteran center has signed with the club for the rest of the 2026-27 season, giving the Turkish power an NBA-tested big man and closing the door, for now, on a return to the Dallas Mavericks.

Reports was first to report that the deal was coming together, and the club made it official hours later. It will be the first time the 35-year-old Canadian has played in the EuroLeague. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Dwight Powell Fenerbahçe Tarfin’de! ✍️💛💙

Fenerbahçe Tarfin Erkek Basketbol Takımımız, son olarak NBA’de Dallas Mavericks forması giyen, forvet ve pivot pozisyonlarında oynayabilen Kanadalı uzun oyuncu Dwight Powell (2.08cm – 1991) ile sezon sonuna dek anlaşmaya varmıştır.

20… pic.twitter.com/LXF5tQWWQc

— Fenerbahçe Tarfin Erkek Basketbol (@FBBasketbol) October 30, 2026

How he became available

Dallas waived Powell on Monday, October 19, the last day before opening-night rosters were due. He had come back to camp on a minimum-salary Exhibit 10 contract with $1 million guaranteed, and the Mavericks needed one more cut to get down to 15 standard deals. Letting go of anyone else would have meant eating more guaranteed money, so the longest-serving player on the roster was the cheapest option.

Nobody claimed him on waivers, which made him an unrestricted free agent. That $1 million remains on the Mavericks’ books as dead money this season regardless of what he earns in Turkey, and the move does not change Dallas’ roster count, which stays at 15 standard contracts and two two-way players.

Powell leaves the NBA, at least for this season, with 763 regular-season games in a Mavericks uniform, more than all but four players in franchise history. Across those 12 seasons he put up 6.5 points, 4.3 boards and 17.6 minutes a night and made 60.6% of his shots, fourth-best in team history. Last season his role had shrunk to 14.3 minutes a game in 63 appearances, with averages of 3.3 points and 4.1 boards, though he still converted 64.4% from the floor as a screener and roller.

What Fenerbahce gets

Sarunas Jasikevicius’ team won the EuroLeague in 2025 and has made three straight Final Four trips. Fenerbahce is 6-3 in European play so far and 3-2 at home in the Turkish league, and already leans on several former NBA players, including Shane Larkin, Talen Horton-Tucker, Nicolo Melli and Wade Baldwin. Powell adds a mobile, pick-and-roll big who spent years screening for Luka Doncic and was part of the Dallas team that reached the 2024 NBA Finals.

What comes next

The Mavericks are back home on Monday, November 2, against the Sacramento Kings at 8 p.m. ET (Kings at Mavericks Game Center). A rest-of-season contract means Powell will be a free agent again next summer, when an NBA return becomes an option once more.