Trade & Free Agency 2026/2027

[Scott41theMavs]

The question of whether to match Cisse hinges on several factors we don't know
1 Do they see Nemby as a priority to keep?
2 Do they like Cisse more than Nemby?
3 Do they have a deal cooking using the TPE? If so, how much salary are they adding? And will they need another roster slot?
4 Do they have a deal in the works that will open up another roster slot?

Based on what we actually know, without speculating on imaginary deals that we are just inventing, I think Cisse's is not a contract you match (because he's too low on the pecking order for C minutes, behind Gafford, Lively, Aldama, and perhaps also Morez and PJ). As a 2-way, he would have cost you neither roster space nor cap space, making him a convenient luxury backup as a 2-way. But they have a lot of mouths to feed, and I have a hard time seeing a real need for him in the lineup, assuming these other players are all on the team.

Re: your list of centers - I think you can cross off Lively until we actually see him play, and Gafford is so available that he has been reported as a available (along with Klay) by a front office who has been very tight lipped with its moves. So you’re really talking about Morez, Aldama, and PJ. I have had Morez pencilled in as the midseason starting center for some time now personally. I don’t see Aldama as a center at all, and PJ is of course far more of a forward and only useful as a very situational small ball center. Cisse is just the guy to shore up that position, taking the majority of the minutes behind Morez in those times when Lively isn’t healthy (like at the beginning of the year).