Hawks trade former No. 1 pick Risacher in three-team deal, get elite defender

The Hawks are trading their former No. 1 overall pick, Zaccharie Risacher, in a three-team deal with the Thunder and Mavericks.

In return, Atlanta is acquiring an All-Defensive Team selection, Lu Dort, along with Ryan Nembhard, a league source confirmed Sunday to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

It’s the second trade this summer between the Hawks and Thunder, along with the June deal that brought guard Aaron Wiggins to Atlanta.

Several second-round picks are also involved in Sunday’s deal, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania, who first reported the trade. The second-round picks are protected from Nos. 31-55.

Dort, 27, is 6-foot-4, 220 pounds and joins a stalwart group of defenders in the Hawks backcourt that includes Dyson Daniels, a two-time All-Defensive selection, and Nickeil Alexander-Walker.

Last season, he averaged 8.3 points in 69 games. He has spent all seven of his NBA seasons with the Thunder, and he averaged 11.6 points and 3.8 rebounds and shot 36% during his career, which included an NBA title in 2025.

Dort is set to make $18.2 million next season.

Risacher was the runner-up for Rookie of the Year for the 2024-25 season. The 21-year-old had fallen out of the Hawks’ rotation last season after the team acquired several veteran wings at February’s trade deadline. The Hawks also recently acquired Wiggins and Devin Carter, raising further questions about Risacher’s fit on the team.

So, the Hawks pivoted, especially with the pending decision of whether to pick up Risacher’s 2027-28 fourth-year rookie contract option worth $17.4 million. They had until Oct. 31 of this year to decide.

With Dort and Nembhard on the final year of their deals, the Hawks operate with future optionality (a guiding principle of Hawks president of basketball operations Onsi Saleh). The Hawks are estimated to have about $40 million in cap space for the 2027-28 season. It would give them wiggle room to work with in free agency next summer.