DALLAS — On the eve of opening night, front offices across the league are finalizing their fifteen-man rosters under the unforgiving weight of the collective bargaining agreement. In Dallas, Masai Ujiri and Dusty May are facing a genuine dilemma regarding the Moussa Cissé contract. After matching a restricted free agency sheet from New York in July and watching his $2.2 million salary fully guarantee on October 1, Dallas is seriously contemplating waiving the 24-year-old rim protector to hold onto Dwight Powell’s veteran locker room presence.
Keeping Powell for culture makes some sense in May’s motion scheme and young locker room, but tossing a guaranteed young big overboard for nothing is a wild gamble, especially with vulture teams like the Lakers and Sixers circling.
Passing The Buck Instead Of Cashing The Check
Carrying 15 guaranteed deals into mid-October means somebody has to be the odd man out. Instead of shipping fringe players for a solid return earlier in camp, Dallas let the clock run down like a college squad botching a late-clock possession.
Eating over two million in dead cap just to keep a third-string big is a tough pill to swallow. Cissé brings real vertical pop, strong glass-cleaning instincts, and rim deterrence you cannot buy on a minimum salary. By even teasing his availability on waivers, Dallas is essentially offering Western rivals a free defensive upgrade.
Morez Johnson Jr. Crashes The Party
Part of the reason Cissé has become “expendable” comes down to lottery priority. When Dallas drafted Morez Johnson Jr. ninth overall out of Michigan, they added a 6’9″, 250-pound human wrecking ball with a relentless motor.
With Dereck Lively II and Daniel Gafford already eating major center minutes, Johnson’s immediate physical impact made Cissé’s particular brand of athletic rim protection redundant. Dusty May loves bigs who process reads instantly, and Johnson commands guaranteed developmental minutes right out of the gate. It also helps that May was his coach in college so there’s history there.
Why The Moussa Cissé Contract Crunch Has Rivals Salivating
Word moves fast around the league, and rival front offices smell blood in the water. Both the Lakers and Sixers have been hunting for cheap, low-usage rim protection behind their starter bigs.
Lakers fans are already drawing up rotation charts on X, assuming Cissé falls right into their lap on waivers without costing a single draft asset. If he walks out the door and immediately plugs a bench hole in Los Angeles, this summer’s free agency maneuvering will have hints of expensive self-sabotage. It may even reopen olds wounds about the Luka Dončić trade.
Cozy Comfort Versus Cold Hard Chemistry
The Mavs organization trusts Dwight Powell. Powell knows the playbook inside out, talks on defense, sets screens like a brick wall, and is a consummate professional. But choosing a veteran voice over young, high-upside length is a risky move in a loaded Western Conference.
If Masai Ujiri lets Cissé walk for free, Dallas is going to learn the hard way that mismanaging young assets always comes back to bite you. Whether Cissé stays or lands in Los Angeles, the front office has backed itself into a corner where talent leaves the building for nothing.
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