The Dallas Mavericks found themselves in the headlines recently over an unusual trade on Sunday with the Oklahoma City Thunder and Atlanta Hawks that brought them the 2024 No. 1 overall pick and small forward Zaccharie Risacher from the Hawks.
While most people spent the wake of the trade dunking on Risacher for being essentially a throwaway piece in a deal where the main factor was Thunder guard Lu Dort landing in Atlanta, The Ringer’s Bill Simmons saw the trade as a possible opening to another blockbuster move — eventually landing Philadelphia 76ers center and former NBA MVP Joel Embiid.
The Mavericks used their Traded Player Exception in the Risacher trade, which allows them to bank the salary difference between what they gave out and what they brought in toward a salary in a future trade.
“The Mavs caught my attention today with the weird 3-way trade where Lu Dort ends up in Atlanta,” Simmons said on his podcast Sunday night. “They get Risacher in Dallas, and they use some of their exception for it, which I thought was smart. I’m not selling my Risacher stock yet. I thought he was on the wrong team. I still think there’s something there. But it did make me think; I still feel like that’s the Embiid team If it ever happens, it’s Dallas.”
76ers Made Blockbuster Offseason Trade
The 76ers made themselves championship contenders with a single move this summer by trading for Boston Celtics small forward and former NBA Finals MVP Jaylen Brown, although how Embiid and Brown co-exist remains to be seen.
For Embiid, who or what plays around him is mostly insignificant because of his contract — arguably the worst contract in the NBA.
The 76ers, spurred by former general manager Daryl Morey, signed Embiid to a 3-year, $187.87 million contract extension with the player option for the 2028-29 season before the 2024-25 season.
Embiid’s contract is scheduled to pay him approximately $57.9 million in 2026-27, $62.6 million in 2027-28, and $67.2 million in 2028-29.
Mavericks Now Have 2 Former No. 1 Picks on Roster
After trading for Risacher, the Mavericks now have 2 former No. 1 overall picks with 2025 top pick Cooper Flagg, the 2026 NBA Rookie of the Year.
Unfortunately for the Mavericks, they play the same position.
“BREAKING: The Oklahoma City Thunder trading All-Defensive wing Lu Dort to the Atlanta Hawks in a three-team deal that sends three second-round picks to OKC, former No. 1 pick Zaccharie Risacher to the Dallas Mavericks and Ryan Nembhard to Atlanta, sources tell ESPN,” ESPN’s Shams Charania wrote on his official X account on Sunday. “The Hawks now are teaming up a 27-year-old elite defender in Dort with Dyson Daniels and Nickeil Alexander-Walker on the wings — and will have $40+ million in cap space next summer. Atlanta pursued several wings this offseason before landing Dort.”
Risacher, 6-foot-8 and 200 pounds, was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft and signed a 4-year, $57 million rookie contract. In 2 seasons, Risacher has averaged just 11.1 points and 3.7 rebounds and saw his scoring average dip into single digits in 2025-26 at 9.6 points per game.
“The No. 1 pick 2 years ago was just traded and it wasn’t the headline of the tweet,” Elite Takes wrote on its official X account.
While the last 2 NBA Drafts in 2025 and 2026 have been chock-full of generational talents, the 2024 NBA Draft is likely going to be remembered as 1 of the worst in NBA history, and Risacher 1 of the worst No. 1 overall picks of all time.
“First pick getting traded for that is nasty,” Kenny Beecham wrote on X on Sunday. “Wow.”
Mavericks Predicted Trade Destination for Former NBA MVP