The New York Knicks have signed restricted free agent center Moussa Cissé to a two-year offer sheet, according to reports from Jake Fischer and ESPN’s Shams Charania. The Dallas Mavericks now have 48 hours — through Monday — to match the deal and retain the 7-footer or let him walk to Madison Square Garden.
Charania laid out the structure: Cissé’s salary is half-guaranteed in the first year, and the 2027-28 season is non-guaranteed. That’s the kind of contract a team signs when it sees a project worth developing — a live body who can block shots and run the floor without tying up real money if the experiment goes sideways. The Mavericks extended Cissé a qualifying offer in June, making him a restricted free agent and giving themselves the right of first refusal.
Cissé went undrafted in 2024 out of Oklahoma State, where he led the Big 12 in blocks and pulled down rebounds at a rate that made scouts take notice even if his offensive game lagged behind. The Mavericks signed him to a two-way contract, and he spent time with their G League affiliate in Texas, flashing the rim-protecting instincts that made him a defensive force in college. Dallas clearly saw enough to keep his rights in play rather than letting him become an unrestricted free agent.
Now the decision belongs to Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison and the Dallas front office. Matching the offer sheet means committing guaranteed money to a developmental big man on a roster already carrying Daniel Gafford and Dereck Lively II in the frontcourt. Letting him go costs nothing but the asset itself — a young, cheap shot-blocker who hasn’t yet scratched his ceiling.
For the Knicks, the move fits a pattern. They’ve spent the offseason hunting for frontcourt depth behind Mitchell Robinson and Karl-Anthony Towns, and Cissé represents a low-cost flier on size and defensive length. Half-guaranteed money in Year 1 means New York is protecting itself if Cissé can’t crack the rotation, while the non-guaranteed second year gives them a club option in everything but name.
Marc Stein’s Substack newsletter, published late Thursday into Friday, corroborated the timing of the move as part of a broader wave of late-night NBA free agency activity following summer league in Las Vegas. The offer sheet was signed as teams continue reshaping rosters in the final stretch of the offseason calendar.
The 48-hour window puts Dallas on the clock through Monday. If the Mavericks decline to match, Cissé joins the Knicks and Dallas receives no compensation — restricted free agency doesn’t work like an offer sheet in hockey or baseball. The team either matches or loses the player outright.
Cissé’s path from undrafted to an NBA offer sheet in barely a year is the kind of trajectory that makes front offices pay attention. Whether Dallas believes in it enough to spend the money — or whether New York’s bet on a raw, defensive-minded big pays off — gets answered by Monday.
Sources
- Marc Stein — Late Night NBA Free Agency & Trade Intel
- Jake Fischer report via r/nba
- Shams Charania / ESPN report via r/nba