Mavericks eye sneaky trade deadline move to secure rookie standout

While the Dallas Mavericks have some complicated trade plans on their hands ahead of the deadline, including shopping Anthony Davis, Daniel Gafford, and Klay Thompson, they also want to find a way to convert Moussa Cisse's two-way (subscription required) contract to a standard deal.

Cisse has been excellent for Dallas off the bench, averaging 4.0 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks per game while shooting 66.1 percent from the field, and the Mavs see him as a rookie that they'd like to take into their future. He put the world on notice against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden earlier this week, as he finished with 15 points, nine rebounds, and four blocks.

Cisse was a monster on the glass and protecting the rim, and the Mavs have a springy young big that they can rely upon to finish around the bucket and anchor their defense. Dallas now has three elite rookies in their rotation with Cisse, Ryan Nembhard, and Cooper Flagg, and there's a world in which all three of them are on the roster heading into next season.

Mavericks are prioritizing Moussa Cisse's future at the trade deadline

Marc Stein was first on the case with the Cisse rumblings, as he reported that the Mavs want to convert Nembhard and Cisse's two-way contracts to standard contracts. Both rookies have been extremely impressive over the first half of the season, and this is the first report that indicates Dallas views Cisse as someone that they'd like to keep around long-term as they enter a mini-rebuild around Flagg.

"My read is that the Mavericks, on top of their ongoing trade explorations, are searching for the same pathways to create the needed roster room for converting Nembhard and Cissé," Stein reported.

The Mavs have been planning to get Nembhard onto a standard contract for some time, and the same can now be said about Cisse. Fans have been pushing for the team to find a way to get Cisse off a two-way contract as soon as possible, and this looks to be in the cards as the February 5 trade deadline rapidly approaches.

Fans feared that Cisse's time in Dallas was running out, as Jason Kidd has been ultra-aggressive when it comes to using Cisse's two-way eligibility. He is only able to be active in 13 more games on his current contract, and now the Mavs are looking for ways to make sure that they don't even have to worry about that.

The Mavs only have two weeks to create two roster spots for Cisse and Nembhard, and with this being a priority for the front office, it should be expected that some sort of trade is on the way. Dallas would need to send out more players than they bring back, and this would create an open roster spot to sign one of their two standout rookies.

On top of this, the Mavericks could also explore waiving Dante Exum to create space on the roster. Dallas is keeping him around for the time being in case they include him in a trade of some sort before the deadline, but if he doesn't get moved, expect him to be cut.

The Mavs have plenty of options to explore to ensure that they lock down Moussa Cisse before the end of the season, and doing this before the trade deadline will be crucial for them. Creating open roster space will likely end up being one of Dallas' priorities over the next few weeks, and Cisse has a shot at being the Mavs' top backup center for years to come.