The Mavs\u2019 decision to match New York\u2019s 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Now, with Cisse apparently on the chopping block, we have to wonder whether Dallas\u2019 decision was about more than just basketball.<\/p>\n
Don\u2019t rule out the Mavericks holding a grudge<\/p>\n
The Knicks pulled off one of the biggest free-agency coups<\/a> in NBA history at the Mavericks\u2019 expense when they poached Jalen Brunson in 2022. That isn\u2019t the kind of moment a franchise just forgets.<\/p>\n 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<\/a> the Knicks.<\/p>\n This doesn\u2019t even technically have to be about Brunson. It could be about Jason Kidd.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Knicks aggressively pursued the Mavs\u2019 now-former head honcho last offseason before hiring Mike Brown, which prompted Dallas to give him an extension<\/a>. Though Dumont signed Kidd\u2019s walking papers after bringing in Ujiri, he couldn\u2019t have felt great about being bamboozled into extending a coach that wasn\u2019t long for the organization.\u00a0<\/p>\n If this isn\u2019t enough fuel for your gas tank, let\u2019s also not forget Ujiri has his own history with the Knicks. He declared that he hated the organization back in 2014<\/a>, and while he was running things in Toronto, he verbally eye-rolled a lawsuit<\/a> New York filed against the Raptors for stealing \u201cteam secrets.\u201d<\/p>\n Moussa Cisse\u2019s future is a fun, albeit annoying, subplot for the Knicks<\/p>\n 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\u2019t impact their title defense.<\/p>\n 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<\/a>. But because the Knicks tendered him an offer sheet, they can\u2019t acquire him under any circumstance for a year. So whether the Mavs waive or trade him, New York is automatically out of the running.<\/p>\n On the flip side, it\u2019s patently hilarious to think that the Knicks could still be living rent-free in Dallas\u2019 head nearly a half-decade later. Especially when you consider the Mavs\u2019 own internal turnover during that time.\u00a0<\/p>\n We\u2019re not saying that\u2019s definitely why Dallas held onto Cisse. But the current chain of events suggests it\u2019s a distinct possibility.<\/p>\n
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