The Knicks’ Moussa Cissé pursuit came up just short in July, when New York put a two-year, $4.7 million offer sheet in front of the restricted free agent and Dallas matched it. Since then, though, the bigger question was whether Cissé would actually stick with the Mavericks at all.
That possibility created plenty of anxiety in New York. Dallas had been weighing whether to keep veteran Dwight Powell on the roster ahead of Monday’s cutdown deadline, and The Stein Line reported that Cissé was viewed as the “greatest player in jeopardy” of getting waived to make room for Powell.
Instead, the opposite happened. ESPN’s Shams Charania reported Monday that the Mavericks waived Powell, who had been with the franchise since 2014.
The Dallas Mavericks are waiving veteran center Dwight Powell, sources tell ESPN.
- Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) October 19, 2026
For the Knicks, that removes the last bit of drama around Cissé’s status. New York already landed James Wiseman as its third-string center, with Wiseman grabbing the final roster spot over Bruce Brown. But if Dallas had let Cissé go, it would still have been a frustrating outcome for the Knicks, especially after it looked for a time like he was bound for New York.
There was also the matter of other teams circling. Marc Stein reported interest from the Bulls, Sixers, Hawks and Lakers, and Philadelphia would have brought Cissé in on a two-way deal. That still would not have softened the blow for New York, especially with the possibility of him stepping into the role Ariel Hukporti had been in line for.
Dallas made its choice, and it came down on the side of the younger big man. Powell’s departure closes the book on a long Mavericks tenure, but Cissé’s upside clearly won out. He’s entering just his second season, which fits the Mavericks’ timeline with Cooper Flagg, who is also at the same stage of his career.
What made Cissé such an appealing target for the Knicks was easy to see: athleticism, rim protection and rebounding. He looked like the kind of player New York could develop into a future starting center, a particularly attractive idea with the uncertainty surrounding Karl-Anthony Towns’ future.
If Dallas had decided to keep Powell instead, the Knicks could have stayed in the mix for Cissé even with Wiseman on the roster, but that path would have required a trade for Pacôme Dadiet, which brings its own complications.
So while New York never got the player it targeted, the Knicks at least escaped the more irritating version of the story: another team snapping up Cissé after he seemed destined for their roster. There’s still hope for what Wiseman can become in New York, but Cissé was the cleaner fit.
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