The Knicks have signed Mavericks restricted free agent center Moussa Cisse to a two-year offer sheet, reports Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (via Twitter).
Shams Charania of ESPN, who confirms the news, hears Cisse’s salary for next season is 50% guaranteed, while 2027/28 is non-guaranteed (Twitter link). Charania’s colleague Bobby Marks reports (via Twitter) that Cisse’s contract for ’26/27 would be fully guaranteed on October 1.
Dallas has until Monday at 11:59 pm ET to decide whether or not to match the offer sheet, Marks adds.
According to Fischer (Twitter link), the Knicks have been in the market for a young backup center. They attempted to trade for Yves Missi of the Pelicans and Moussa Diabate of the Hornets before signing Cisse.
An athletic lob threat and rim protector, Cisse went undrafted last year out of Memphis after playing for three different schools over five college seasons. He initially signed an Exhibit 10 deal with the Mavs for training camp, but was promoted to a two-way contract shortly before 2025/26 began.
Cisse, 23, was part of Dallas’ frontcourt rotation for stretches of last season, averaging 4.5 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks in 13.9 minutes per game across 38 appearances. He was given a two-way qualifying offer last month, making him a restricted free agent.
The Guinean big man also made 16 total G League appearances with the Texas Legends as a rookie in 2025/26, averaging 14.8 points, 13.3 rebounds and 2.4 blocks in 27.7 minutes per game.
While the exact terms of Cisse’s agreement with New York have yet to be reported, the team is close to its second-apron hard cap, so it can’t offer Cisse much more than his minimum salary.
From a financial perspective, there’s nothing preventing the Mavericks from matching the offer sheet. However, the team already has 15 players on guaranteed standard contracts, with Dereck Lively II, Daniel Gafford, No. 9 overall pick Morez Johnson Jr., and trade acquisition Santi Aldama as options in the middle.
More to come…
