DHJ Quick Take: Mavericks Extend Qualifying Offer to Moussa Cissé
The Dallas Mavericks are extending a qualifying offer to Moussa Cissé, making the center a restricted free agent. The move gives Dallas the right to match any contract he signs while keeping a productive young big in the frontcourt picture.
- What did the Mavericks do? Extended a qualifying offer to Cissé, triggering restricted free agency and the right to match outside offers.
- Who is Moussa Cissé? An undrafted 2025 signee who averaged 4.5 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.2 blocks on 57.4% shooting in 38 games on a two-way deal.
- Why does it matter? It secures cheap frontcourt depth behind Daniel Gafford and a recovering Dereck Lively II.
- What’s next? As a restricted free agent, Cissé can field offers in free agency, and Dallas holds the right to match any deal he signs.
DALLAS — The Dallas Mavericks are extending a qualifying offer to Moussa Cissé, making the center a restricted free agent, sources told Dallas Hoops Journal. He will hold a 2026-27 cap hit of under $2.2 million.
The move keeps a productive young big in the mix and gives Dallas the right to match any contract Cissé signs elsewhere this summer. It came on the same day the Mavericks moved to retain another rookie from their 2025 undrafted class.
Earlier Monday, Dallas exercised guard Ryan Nembhard‘s $2.2 million team option for next season ahead of the league’s June 29 deadline, a decision Dallas Hoops Journal confirmed and reported.
How Moussa Cissé Forced His Way Into Opportunity
Both players went undrafted in 2025 and signed two-way contracts with Dallas in July. Injuries pushed each into a larger role than the team planned, and both did enough to earn a place in next season’s plans.
Cissé’s path opened up as the frontcourt thinned out. Anthony Davis missed long stretches with a calf and Achilles strain before Dallas traded him to the Washington Wizards at the February deadline, Dereck Lively II went down with a second straight season-ending foot surgery, and Daniel Gafford missed time of his own.
That forced Cissé onto the floor far more than a two-way rookie usually plays. He appeared in 38 games, averaging 4.5 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.2 blocks while shooting 57.4% from the field in fewer than 14 minutes a night.
The rebounding carried the most weight for a Mavericks team that lacked it at times. At 6-foot-11 with a 7-foot-5 wingspan and a 9-foot-3 standing reach, Cissé finished lobs and protected the rim without needing the ball, the profile teams increasingly want from a backup center.
The Deadline Decision That Capped Cissé
Dallas could convert only one two-way player to a standard contract at the deadline and chose Nembhard, waiving veteran Tyus Jones to open the roster spot. That left Cissé on his two-way deal and near the 50-game limit for two-way players, which held him to eight appearances after the deadline.
Both finished the season with a flourish in the regular-season finale against the Chicago Bulls, where, with most of the rotation sidelined, Cissé grabbed 20 rebounds and Nembhard handed out 23 assists, each setting a Mavericks rookie record.
Dallas Keeps Its Undrafted Class Together
Nembhard, the younger brother of Indiana Pacers guard Andrew Nembhard, averaged 6.7 points and 4.9 assists across 38 games with 17 starts. Picking up his option keeps him in a backcourt that expects Kyrie Irving back next season from a torn ACL.
Keeping both rookies points to how Dallas wants to build around its young core. Cissé gives the Mavericks cheap frontcourt depth behind Gafford and a recovering Lively, while Nembhard adds a low-cost playmaker, two pieces from an undrafted class that outperformed its billing.
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