The Knicks were on the verge of adding to their center depth, but the Dallas Mavericks are matching the two-year offer sheet on center Moussa Cisse that he agreed to with New York earlier Saturday.
According to SNY’s Ian Begley, the offer sheet to Cisse, who spent last season with the Mavericks, starts at the veteran’s minimum of $2.5 million. But since Cisse is a restricted free agent, the Mavericks had 48 hours to match. If Dallas didn’t match, the Knicks would have lost the ability to sign their draft picks to contracts via the second-round minimum while also staying under the second apron.
In short, if Summer League standouts Tyler Nickel or Jack Ayil were to play with the Knicks this upcoming season with Cisse on the roster, they would have needed to agree to two-way deals.
ESPN’s Shams Charania reports that the offer sheet is half guaranteed in the first year, with the 2027-28 season being non-guaranteed. The total for the two-year deal with Dallas is worth $4.7 million, Charania notes.
Cisse, a Memphis product who went undrafted, played 38 games for the Mavericks in his rookie season. He averaged 19 minutes a game while posting 4.5 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game.
The 23-year-old Cisse would have provided the Knicks with much-needed depth at the center position. With the departure of Mitchell Robinson and Ariel Hukporti, the Knicks entered the offseason with just Karl-Anthony Towns on the roster who could play the position. New York went ahead and added veteran center Andre Drummond in early July.
New York targeted Jonas Valanciunas to bolster the position further, but the veteran center signed with the EuroLeague.
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