Moussa Cissé’s spot in Dallas is no longer up for grabs.
The Mavericks kept the second-year center on the roster by meeting the clock at Thursday’s Oct. 1 deadline, giving him a guaranteed place as Dallas heads to Macao this weekend with 15 standard contracts. Cissé is in that group now, and he’ll have a chance to put himself on display when the Mavericks face the Houston Rockets at The Venetian Arena on Oct. 9 and Oct. 11 in the NBA China Games.
That outcome wasn’t always a sure thing. On July 18, the New York Knicks signed Cissé, then a restricted free agent, to a two-year, $4.7 million offer sheet. Dallas had 48 hours to match and moved quickly to keep him.
Because the Mavericks matched the deal, Cissé cannot be traded without his approval for a year after the match, and he cannot be traded to the Knicks during that stretch.
The move fits the way Dallas has viewed him from the start. The Mavericks see an emerging piece in the 24-year-old shot-blocker, who went undrafted out of Memphis in 2025 and signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the team on July 8 of that year.
He flashed right away in the preseason, putting up 6 points, 12 rebounds and a team-high seven blocks across three games before Dallas converted him to a two-way contract on Oct. 20, 2025.
As a rookie, the 6-11 Cissé played 38 games, starting one, and averaged 4.5 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.2 blocks in 13.9 minutes. He shot 57.4% from the field. His best scoring and rebounding nights came in the regular-season finale on April 12 against the Chicago Bulls, when he finished with 17 points and 20 rebounds.
He spent part of the season with the Texas Legends, Dallas’ G League affiliate, but that chapter appears to be in the rearview now. Cissé is fighting for minutes with Daniel Gafford, who has been the subject of some trade speculation, and Dereck Lively, who is still working through an injury.
Santi Aldama and Morez Johnson may also be in the mix. Dwight Powell, 35 and the longest-tenured player on the roster, is in camp as an invitee as well.
For now, the contract gives Cissé something he did not have before: security. It may also give him a little more belief heading into a pivotal season.
“That’s what every basketball player wants, to be on a standard contract,” Cissé said. “That don’t mean the job is done. I gotta keep working.”
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