Knicks' Renewed Moussa Cisse Dream Is All But Dead Now

The New York Knicks have recently signed three veteran centers: James Wiseman, Drew Eubanks, and Tony Bradley, but that doesn't mean their big man search will end with one of those names. Each has their own flaws that could prompt New York to go in a different direction ahead of opening night.

One potential path reopened for the Knicks this past week, as the Dallas Mavericks brought back veteran center Dwight Powell, stirring some speculation that Moussa Cisse could be let go ahead of his contract fully guaranteeing the night of Oct. 1.

However, this deadline came and went Thursday night without Dallas cutting Cisse to save a little over $1 million in space and open up a roster spot for Powell.

The Mavericks are holding onto center Moussa Cisse, who will have his contract for the 2026-27 season fully guaranteed in a matter of minutes sources told @ClutchPoints.

Cisse signed an offer sheet with the Knicks earlier this summer only for Dallas to match and keep him.
— Brett Siegel (@BrettSiegelNBA) October 2, 2026

This deals a big blow to the Knicks, who might have to give up the Cisse chase for good due to the stipulations around his contract.

Knicks adding Moussa Cisse is near-impossible after his contract guarantee deadline passes

Many will remember New York signing Cisse, a restricted free agent, to an initial offer sheet near the end of July. His status as an RFA allowed the Mavericks to match, which they did. As a result of extending an offer sheet but not ultimately landing the player, the Knicks are barred from trading for Cisse for one year.

That removes the easiest lever Leon Rose would have to acquire a talent he likes, such as Cisse. But since Rose put a contract guarantee deadline into that offer sheet, it added some pressure on the Mavericks to decide whether they really want to keep Cisse around.

This opened the door for Cisse to potentially hit the open market if Dallas opted to waive him before being fully on the hook for his deal, allowing New York to possibly claim or sign the young big man.

Now that this deadline has passed and Cisse appears to be moving forward as a Mav. Dallas could release Cisse in the lead-up to opening night or at any point this season, so his potential to be a Knick isn't truly at zero.

But given his minuscule contract and potential to grow into a key rotational piece, it's pretty doubtful the Mavericks will simply throw in the towel later when they could've done so now and saved some money.

Moussa Cissé walks us through his interesting summer, getting an offer sheet from the Knicks and then ultimately signing with the Mavericks. pic.twitter.com/3izWYqIAx6
— Abby Jones (@_abigaiiiil) September 25, 2026

This leaves New York praying for a miracle to even have the chance to land Cisse anytime soon. The Mavs would need to make a short-sighted move to release him after already guaranteeing his contract. And even then, it's not a slam dunk for the Knicks, since Cisse would need to go through waivers first, and a team with higher priority could scoop him up first.

There's also the possibility that Cisse doesn't play well in the preseason or during the campaign, and Dallas decides to eat the low cost to move and release him. However, that would then raise the question of whether New York would even want Cisse at that point if he's not showing promising signs on the court.

Assuming Cisse has a decent year and sticks with the Mavs all season, Rose's first opportunity to revisit the Memphis alum would be next July, once they can trade for him.

It's possible the Knicks would do so, especially since Cisse could be a long-term frontcourt depth piece at only 24 years old, which New York might need if Karl-Anthony Towns eyes an exit or if Andre Drummond is only a one-season experiment as the main backup.

Although with the hurdles in the way here, Cisse might be a dream that never pans out and forces New York to go in a different direction to land a third-string center with upside.

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