In the NBA, having half of the healthy roster out for the bulk of the young season forces coaches to get creative. The Portland Trail Blazers are currently in the midst of this very situation, and the forced creativity has exposed several veins of opportunity within the roster. One such undercurrent is the case of Sidy Cissoko, whose emergence may force Portland’s hand in converting his two-way deal to a standard one.
Blazers should convert Sidy Cissoko's contract to a standard one
Though Cissoko is on a two-way deal, he’s started 12 of the 32 games in which he’s played, mainly due to the decimation of Portland’s roster. Though he’s averaged just six points and change this season, many of his contributions have not shown up on the stat sheet, and his game is developing somewhat rapidly.
Like Toumani Camara last season, Cissoko’s energy is infectious, making hustle plays and gritty defensive stops when given the opportunity. One of his biggest strengths is that he always seems to be in the right spot, playing very well within himself, with the ability to detonate when needed.
Much like Camara, Cissoko’s defensive repertoire eerily mimics that of Toumani’s, unafraid to sacrifice his body and draw charges. In just 23 minutes of tonight’s game versus the Utah Jazz, Sidy drew two charges; last season, Camara far and away led the league with 31.
The offense is also accelerating to match the tenacious defense; his three-point shot has become increasingly reliable. In his last five games, Cissoko has canned 13 of his 26 longballs, a scorching 50 percent—16 percent higher than the team as a whole at this point, not including tonight’s game.
If Cissoko is to be converted into a standard contract, that means that Portland must cut its active roster by one. This is highly unlikely to occur before the trade deadline, where Portland has its best chance of consolidating roster spots to free up room for Cissoko.
Among all eligible candidates, it seems Duop Reath may be the most likely; if Yang Hansen were a little further along in the development process, Cissoko’s deal may have been set in stone long ago.
When and if Cissoko’s deal is converted, it opens up a two-way deal which may be quickly snatched up by the Remix’s Blake Hinson, a lights-out shooter currently netting nearly 45 percent of his triples on nearly 10 attempts per game. That's a skill extremely coveted by the Blazers this season.
Sidy Cissoko was a second-round pick by the San Antonio Spurs in the 2023 draft and spent one full season there before being traded to Washington by way of Sacramento before being waived. The Blazers signed him to a two-way deal just two days after Washington let him go, where he finished out the ‘24-’25 season.