top of page
image.png

2025 Free Agents - Sidy Cissoko

Cissoko is a forward with a good frame at 6'8", and was drafted 44th overall by the Spurs in 2023. He didn't play much his rookie year, only getting 115 minutes of non-garbage time across 10 games, according to Cleaning the Glass. Cissoko has some ball skills, and can be effective in transition as a scorer or playmaker. He's not someone I expect to have the ball in his hands a lot at the NBA level, but processes the game decently. He was productive from a scoring perspective in the G-League during his rookie season, and during his year with the G-League Ignite, scoring in double figures and averaging over three assists per game. The outside shooting is a swing skill for Cissoko. He has only hit 29% of this 3-pointers in the G-League across two seasons thus far, and missed all nine of his NBA attempts. It's hard, but not impossible, for role playing wings to survive without being a threat from behind the arc in today's NBA, but Cissoko would need to be awesome in other areas to make up for that. Defensively, Cissoko can use his large frame to guard multiple positions. He'll get his chest in front of guys and not get bumped off his spot. He's disruptive, getting a good amount of steals and blocks. Cissoko also shows some awareness when it comes to rotations and being in the right spot. He isn't the quickest guy laterally, and can get beat by smaller, quicker guards off the dribble. Cissoko will still only be 21 years old as a potential free agent in 2025. He hasn't gotten many NBA minutes yet, but he's still an intriguing prospect that has some real tools. It will be interesting to see if he can crack the regular rotation on this deeper '24-'25 Spurs team.

Summary

Cissoko's $2.2 million salary for 2025-2026 is non-guaranteed, and if he is waived he will become an unrestricted free agent and the Spurs will have no form of Bird rights on him. If he is waived, teams could claim him off waivers, but would need to fit his salary within cap space or an exception to do so, as his contract doesn't fit within the minimum salary exception as it was a three-year contract. If Cissoko becomes a free agent, other teams will have multiple ways to sign him as even teams without cap space could use any of the Non-Taxpayer MLE, Taxpayer MLE, Room MLE, or Bi-Annual Exception to sign him. If he is waived and clears waivers, it's likely he will only have minimum offers, and may not even get fully-guaranteed offers.

Cap Considerations

Josh Minott (3rd year non-guaranteed salary retained, 2024) Caleb Houstan (3rd year non-guaranteed salary retained, 2024) Ricky Council IV (2nd year non-guaranteed salary retained, 2024)

Player/Contract Comparison

Potential Teams: Spurs, Warriors, Hawks, Bucks, Heat

Predicted Contract: Not waived: $2.2 million
If waived: 1-year, $2.3 million (non-guaranteed) with the Warriors

Last updated: 9/28/2024

bottom of page