Dwight Powell or Moussa Cisse? That is question which the Dallas Mavericks will be asking themselves ahead of the rapidly approaching deadline to finalize rosters for NBA Opening Night at 5 p.m. ET/2 p.m. PT today. The Los Angeles Lakers are certainly hoping they elect to keep Powell.
Cisse is exactly the type of young center who would be worth the gamble for the Lakers. The main problem? There is going to be a healthy level of competition for the 24-year-old big man. Marc Stein reported as much in his latest rumor mill round-up.
The NBA insider identified the Chicago Bulls and Atlanta Hawks as two teams who would flirt with the idea of claiming Cisse off waivers, should Dallas ultimately choose to keep Powell over him. If the Mavericks center makes it through unclaimed, the Lakers are one of an additional two teams who will enter the mix. The Philaelphia 76ers would be the other.
Moussa Cisse will understandably command real NBA interest if available
Getting a cheap and promising young center who could be a rotation player is an attractive gamble for any NBA team. That much is doubly true for the crowd in competition to secure Cisse. Those squads are all crying out for frontcourt help to varying degrees.
For a team like the Bulls, it would be a long-term play at solidifying the position. A similar thing could be said of the Hawks.
For the 76ers and Lakers, there is much more urgency with their need at center. Both teams are hoping for a deep playoff run. Each of them are lacking in the frontcourt.
Lakers' best-case scenario with Moussa Cisse is simple
There should be a straightforward path for how the Lakers want to see things play out on Monday. A best-case scenario starts with the Mavericks pulling the trigger on letting go of their young center. It is then followed up by Cisse clearing waivers.
Should that happen, the Lakers have a simple sales pitch for him: come play your best basketball with Luka Doncic.
Los Angeles could move on from any of their current two-ways to make room for Cisse. Chris Mañon would be the safest of the trio. Arthur Kaluma or AK Okereke would be holding their breath in that scenario.
Doncic is one of the best talents in the league when it comes to elevating his frontcourt partners. Cisse fits the mold of centers that Luka enjoys playing with. Cashing in on an easy two points down low would be a formality for that duo.
In Cisse's shoes, why not sign up for that type of NBA future?
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