Just when you thought the 2025-26 Dallas Mavericks couldn’t possibly get any bigger — they sign Moussa Cisse and his 7-foot-5-inch wingspan (reportedly) to a two-way deal to start the season.
The long have
become even longer.
Michael Scotto of USA Today (and host of the Hoops Hype podcast) was the first to report the transaction on Saturday.
Head coach Jason Kidd told the team Cisse would be splitting time this year between the G League Texas Legends and the big squad before Saturday’s practice, telling the Dallas Morning News that Cisse “thought he was getting cut” before the announcement came.
“He’s earned it,” Kidd told the Morning News. “He’s had a heck of a preseason and training camp. The things that he’s done for us in practice and then also in the games [have] been at a very high level. We’re really excited to have him on board.”
The move comes a day after the team waived guard Dennis Smith Jr., G/F Dalano Banton and forward Jeremiah Robinson-Earl. Cisse, a rookie whose college career followed a winding road starting and ending with one-year stints at Memphis, also played at Oklahoma State and Ole Miss in between. His two-way contract is the Mavericks’ third and last available this season.
Cisse hails from the West African nation of Guinea and originally signed an Exhibit 10 contract to play with the Mavs during Summer League, where he did enough to earn an invitation to training camp in Vancouver, BC. In three preseason game appearances, he scored six points, grabbed 12 rebounds and blocked a team-high seven shots. He blocked three shots and made both his field goal attempts in the team’s first preseason game, a 106-89 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder.
“I’m really grateful,” Cisse told the DMN’s Brad Townsend after the signing was made public. “This is like a dream come true.”
Why would the Mavs spend one of their three two-way spots on another center, with Dereck Lively II, Daniel Gafford and Anthony Davis, who sometimes slides over to the five from his preferred four? Just look at last year, when injuries left the cupboards bare up and down the roster. The likes of Moses Brown, Kai Jones, Kylor Kelley and Kessler Edwards were all called on for emergency starts along the way. More big men than necessary are better than too few.
Cisse is a defensive specialist. His offense is very limited, but he can finish plays at the rim, as he showed during his minutes in preseason play. He told media on Saturday that both Lively and Gafford have helped him this preseason to hone in on the finer points of defending the pick-and-roll in the NBA.
The Morning News reported that in one game in high school, Cisse recorded 31 points, 22 rebounds and 21 blocked shots.
“I feel like a defensive anchor,” Cisse told the DMN. “I love playing defense. I want to do what I do at the best — at the highest level.”
Two-way contracts are not guaranteed. Cisse will get pro-rated pay based on the number of days he spends with the Mavericks and with the Legends.
Cisse’s signing is the latest herald of the 2025-26 Mavericks rallying cry.
“Be tall.”
