Just a few months after matching the New York Knicks’ free-agency offer to Moussa Cisse, the Dallas Mavericks might get rid of him. This raises the question: Did they keep him just to spite the Knicks in the first place?
Cisse is on Collateral Damage Watch as the Mavs try figuring out a way to keep Dwight Powell on their 15-man roster, according to Jake Fischer of The Stein Line. This wouldn’t furrow that many eyebrows if not for the fact that Dallas guaranteed Cisse’s salary by keeping him on the ledger past October 1.
The Mavs’ decision to match New York’s offer was somewhat curious in real time. Sure, Cisse was coming cheap at two years and $4.7 million. But they already had a bunch of bigs and fringe bigs on the roster by that point.
Now, with Cisse apparently on the chopping block, we have to wonder whether Dallas’ decision was about more than just basketball.
Don’t rule out the Mavericks holding a grudge
The Knicks pulled off one of the biggest free-agency coups in NBA history at the Mavericks’ expense when they poached Jalen Brunson in 2022. That isn’t the kind of moment a franchise just forgets.
Granted, Dallas has overturned much of the organization since then. Mark Cuban is no longer the owner. And Nico Harrison is no longer the lead basketball executive. But somebody, somewhere, inside that C-Suite had to be around to endure a generational fumbling. They could have cautioned owner Patrick Dumont and Masai Ujiri against doing anything that might potentially help the Knicks.
This doesn’t even technically have to be about Brunson. It could be about Jason Kidd.
The Knicks aggressively pursued the Mavs’ now-former head honcho last offseason before hiring Mike Brown, which prompted Dallas to give him an extension. Though Dumont signed Kidd’s walking papers after bringing in Ujiri, he couldn’t have felt great about being bamboozled into extending a coach that wasn’t long for the organization.
If this isn’t enough fuel for your gas tank, let’s also not forget Ujiri has his own history with the Knicks. He declared that he hated the organization back in 2014, and while he was running things in Toronto, he verbally eye-rolled a lawsuit New York filed against the Raptors for stealing “team secrets.”
Moussa Cisse’s future is a fun, albeit annoying, subplot for the Knicks
Winning a title means not having to sweat much of anything for a few years. The Knicks are in that honeymoon phase. Their history with the Mavericks and Ujiri is a footnote in their current story. Missing out on Cisse won’t impact their title defense.
Still, it would be somewhat frustrating if Dallas kicked the 24-year-old big man to the curb. He would have made an excellent third center for a roster that clearly needs one. But because the Knicks tendered him an offer sheet, they can’t acquire him under any circumstance for a year. So whether the Mavs waive or trade him, New York is automatically out of the running.
On the flip side, it’s patently hilarious to think that the Knicks could still be living rent-free in Dallas’ head nearly a half-decade later. Especially when you consider the Mavs’ own internal turnover during that time.
We’re not saying that’s definitely why Dallas held onto Cisse. But the current chain of events suggests it’s a distinct possibility.
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