The Atlanta Hawks‘ decision to trade former No. 1 overall pick Zaccharie Risacher after just two NBA seasons is earning praise from one of ESPN’s top NBA analysts.
In his offseason trade grades, ESPN’s Zach Kram awarded the Hawks an A-minus for acquiring All-Defensive wing Luguentz Dort and guard Ryan Nembhard in a three-team blockbuster that sent Risacher to the Dallas Mavericks.
According to ESPN NBA insider Shams Charania, Atlanta acquired Dort and Nembhard, Dallas landed Risacher, and the Oklahoma City Thunder received three future second-round picks. NBA insider Jake Fischer later reported those picks as the Chicago Bulls‘ 2027 second-round selection via Dallas, Atlanta’s most favorable 2031 second-round pick and Atlanta’s most favorable 2032 second-round pick.
For Kram, the deal reflects another smart offseason move by a Hawks front office focused on winning now rather than clinging to draft pedigree.
“Atlanta continues a strong offseason with another shrewd trade,” Kram wrote.
Hawks Bet on Proven Production
Getty Luguentz Dort attacks the basket against Hawks forward Mouhamed Gueye during a game last season. Atlanta acquired the 2025 All-Defensive First Team selection in a three-team trade that sent former No. 1 overall pick Zaccharie Risacher to the Dallas Mavericks.
At first glance, trading away a former No. 1 overall pick for two players who entered the NBA undrafted might seem like a risky gamble.
Kram believes the opposite.
“It wouldn’t seem that way based on the draft pedigrees of the three players involved in this trade,” he wrote. “Ignore the draft record, though, and Dort is clearly a more valuable player, both in the present and future, than Risacher.”
The 27-year-old Dort arrives in Atlanta after spending his first seven NBA seasons with Oklahoma City, where he developed from an undrafted two-way contract into one of the league’s premier perimeter defenders.
A 2025 All-Defensive First Team selection, Dort averaged 8.3 points and 3.6 rebounds in 69 games last season. Over seven NBA seasons, he has averaged 11.6 points and 3.8 rebounds while establishing himself as one of basketball’s toughest defensive wings.
According to Charania, the Thunder exercised Dort’s $17.7 million team option before completing the trade instead of simply declining it. The move allowed Oklahoma City to acquire three second-round picks, create a $17 million trade exception and move below the NBA’s second salary cap apron while putting Dort in a position to negotiate a long-term contract with Atlanta that wasn’t financially feasible with the Thunder.
Atlanta is projected to have more than $40 million in salary cap space next summer, giving the Hawks additional flexibility even after acquiring Dort.
Atlanta’s Defensive Ceiling Rises
Kram believes Dort’s arrival further strengthens one of the NBA’s best collections of perimeter defenders.
The veteran joins 2025 NBA Defensive Player of the Year Dyson Daniels and Nickeil Alexander-Walker, giving coach Quin Snyder multiple versatile wings capable of defending the league’s top scorers every night.
Kram acknowledged there are still questions about how Dort and Daniels will function together offensively, but believes Atlanta’s defensive upside has increased substantially.
The Hawks finished 10th in defensive rating last season and, according to Kram, “could easily push into the top five” in 2026-27.
Atlanta also addressed another weakness that surfaced during last year’s playoff run.
Kram noted the Hawks effectively finished the postseason with a six-man rotation after Jonathan Kuminga’s departure. Dort provides another playoff-tested wing alongside Daniels, Alexander-Walker and Aaron Wiggins, while Nembhard and No. 8 overall pick Kingston Flemings strengthen the team’s backcourt depth.
Nembhard averaged 6.6 points, 5.3 assists and 2.2 rebounds in 60 games as a rookie after earning a standard NBA contract following an impressive season on a two-way deal with Dallas.
Hawks Move On From Risacher
The most difficult part of the trade was deciding to move on from Risacher so early in his career.
The 21-year-old averaged 9.6 points and 3.8 rebounds in 67 games last season but showed little statistical improvement from his rookie campaign. Kram also noted Risacher fell out of Quin Snyder’s playoff rotation, playing just 23 total postseason minutes, most of them during the second half of Atlanta’s season-ending 51-point loss.
Using Stathead’s Box Plus-Minus metric, Kram pointed out that Risacher ranks 39th among the 41 No. 1 overall picks of the lottery era through their first two NBA seasons, ahead of only Anthony Bennett and Michael Olowokandi.
“If this were a retrospective draft grade, the Hawks would receive failing marks for selecting Risacher at No. 1 instead of Alex Sarr or Stephon Castle,” Kram wrote. “But Atlanta viewed that mistake as a sunk cost and turned Risacher into a better player in this trade.”
Rather than allowing draft status to dictate future decisions, Kram believes the Hawks recognized an opportunity to exchange unrealized potential for an established All-Defensive veteran entering his prime—a move he views as one of the NBA’s smartest transactions of the offseason.
Hawks Receive Surprising Grade After Trading Former No. 1 Pick