Dallas Mavericks Make Contract Decision On Second-Year Center

DALLAS — Moussa Cissé’s $2,185,116 salary for the 2026-27 season is now fully guaranteed. The Dallas Mavericks kept the second-year center on the roster through Thursday’s Oct. 1 deadline.

Dallas flies to Macao this weekend with the maximum 15 standard contracts. The Mavericks play the Houston Rockets at The Venetian Arena on Oct. 9 and Oct. 11 as part of the NBA China Games. Dwight Powell, who signed a training camp contract Sept. 25, is in camp without a standard or two-way deal.

Cissé cleared the first of two guarantee dates Sept. 1, when $1,092,558 of his salary became guaranteed. His 2027-28 salary of $2,571,895 is not guaranteed, and Spotrac lists Jan. 10, 2028, as the date it would become fully guaranteed. His deal counts $2,449,421 toward the luxury tax and team aprons, which is the minimum for a player with two years of service.

How Moussa Cissé Went From A Two-Way Contract To A Guaranteed Salary

The New York Knicks signed Cissé, then a restricted free agent, to a two-year, $4.7 million offer sheet on July 18. Dallas had 48 hours to match and did so in fewer than 11. Because the Mavericks matched, Cissé cannot be traded without his approval for a year after the match, and he cannot be traded to the Knicks during that window.

Cissé went undrafted out of Memphis in 2025 and signed an Exhibit 10 contract with Dallas on July 8 of that year. He had 6 points, 12 rebounds, and a team-high 7 blocks in three preseason games. The Mavericks announced his conversion to a two-way contract on Oct. 20, 2025.

As a rookie, Cissé averaged 4.5 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks in 13.9 minutes over 38 games, one of them a start. He shot 57.4% from the field. His career highs of 17 points and 20 rebounds came in the regular-season finale on April 12 against the Chicago Bulls. He split the season between Dallas and the Texas Legends, the Mavericks’ G League affiliate.

Time with the Legends was a growing experience for Cissé, who still plans to go watch some of their games this season. He said so July 28 after working the Mavs Hoop Camp in Lewisville, 10 days after he signed the Knicks’ offer sheet.

“That’s what every basketball player wants, to be on a standard contract,” Cissé said. “That don’t mean the job is done. I gotta keep working.”

Moussa Cissé, Dwight Powell, And The Dallas Mavericks Center Rotation

Daniel Gafford and Dereck Lively II are ahead of Cissé in the rotation. The camp roster lists Cissé, Gafford, Lively, and Powell at center, with rookie Morez Johnson Jr. at forward-center and Santi Aldama at forward. Dallas drafted Johnson ninth overall in June and acquired Aldama in a six-team trade in July.

Fitting in beside Gafford and Lively starts with knowing where he is supposed to be on the floor, Cissé said in July.

“Being able to read off of my teammates, learn their games, know where they wanna be at and where I’m supposed to be at,” Cissé explained. “Be good at my position, what I do the best, and then be the best at it.”

Powell, 35, is the longest-tenured player on the roster. He averaged 3.3 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 1.1 assists in 14.3 minutes over 63 games last season, 12 of them starts.

Mavericks coach Dusty May opens his first season in Dallas after the team hired him in June. Cissé said May told him after taking the job that he had faith in him.

“I had a conversation with all of them,” Cissé said. “When Coach Dusty got hired, he reached out to me. That was beautiful: a head coach reaching out to you and then telling you he had faith in you and trust in you. That puts you in a position where you gotta work hard and not try to disappoint him, so that’s my goal. Going into the season and doing whatever it takes to win.”

After Macao, the Mavericks host the New Orleans Pelicans on Oct. 14 and the Atlanta Hawks on Oct. 16, with tip-off for both at 7 p.m. CT. Opening-night rosters are due Oct. 19 at 4 p.m. CT. Dallas opens the regular season at Houston on Oct. 21 at 7:30 p.m. CT.