Knicks' Moussa Cisse offer sheet leaves Mavericks with 48-hour decision

The Knicks have put Dallas on the clock by agreeing a two-year offer sheet with restricted free agent centre Moussa Cisse, leaving the Mavericks 48 hours to decide whether to match and keeping New York's search for front-court depth unresolved for now.Source 1Source 2

What happened

Cisse became a restricted free agent after Dallas issued him a qualifying offer earlier this off-season, which is why the Mavericks now control the next step in the process.Source 1 The decision window runs to 11:59 p.m. on Monday, according to the reporting on the agreement.Source 1Source 2 The proposed contract is structured to limit New York's risk, with the first-year salary only half-guaranteed and the second season, 2027-28, non-guaranteed.Source 1Source 2 If the Knicks do end up keeping him, the deal would become fully guaranteed on 1 October.Source 2 Cisse is a 6 ft 11 in centre who turns 24 in September, entered the league as an undrafted free agent out of Memphis and first joined Dallas on a two-way contract.Source 1 Last season he averaged 4.5 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.2 blocks in fewer than 14 minutes a night, while HFC's game log credits him with 37 NBA appearances and only one start.Source 1Source 5

Why it matters

The Knicks' interest is easy to place in a roster context because they lost Mitchell Robinson to the Boston Celtics in free agency and later added veteran centre Andre Drummond on a short-term deal.Source 1Source 2 Cisse would therefore be joining a centre group already changed by Robinson's exit and Drummond's arrival, with his own recent profile built on limited minutes and sporadic rebounding production.Source 1Source 2Source 5 HFC's player log shows five games of 10 or more rebounds, and the New York Post reported that he also produced 15 points, nine rebounds and four blocks in 20 minutes against the Knicks last season.Source 2Source 5 His best single-game HFC line was 17 points and 20 rebounds in 40:49, which sits well above his season averages and illustrates the range in his game log.Source 1Source 5 There is also a local thread to the move: Cisse grew up in Conakry, Guinea, moved to New York at 14, attended St Benedict's Prep in Newark alongside former Knick Precious Achiuwa and later played at Christ the King in Queens.Source 2 New York is making that decision after a 53-29 regular season that left it third in the Eastern Conference and second in the Atlantic Division.Source 3 HFC's wider team log lists the Knicks at 71-33 across 104 games including the play-offs, averaging 115.7 points scored and 108.1 conceded, with a 40-13 home record and a 31-20 away mark.Source 4

What's next

The immediate next step is simple: Dallas either matches the offer sheet before the Monday deadline or lets Cisse join the Knicks on the terms already agreed.Source 1Source 2 Until that decision lands, New York cannot treat the signing as complete, even though the structure of the deal is already known.Source 1Source 2 If the Mavericks decline to match and the Knicks retain Cisse into October, the guarantee date becomes the next key marker on the calendar.Source 2

Notes

One caveat is that this remains an offer-sheet story rather than a finished transfer, because restricted free agency gives Dallas a formal right to keep the player by matching.Source 1 Another is that Cisse's 2025-26 sample was still relatively small, with 37 appearances, one start and modest minutes, so his exact role in New York still depends on Dallas's call.Source 1Source 5