The Atlanta Hawks are trading 2024 No. 1 overall pick Zaccharie Risacher to the Dallas Mavericks and receiving Luguentz Dort from the Oklahoma City Thunder and Ryan Nembhard from Dallas in a three-team deal that sends three second-round picks back to the Thunder, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported Sunday.
The move completes Oklahoma City’s summer of cost-cutting and gives Atlanta one of the league’s most respected perimeter defenders on a roster that has been searching for an identity on that end of the floor.
The pieces moving
The Hawks are sending out Risacher, the French small forward who was the top pick in the 2024 NBA Draft and an NBA All-Rookie First Team selection in his first season. After averaging 12.6 points and 3.6 rebounds as a rookie, Risacher saw his production dip to 9.6 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 22.4 minutes per game last season.
In return, Atlanta is acquiring Dort, a 27-year-old small forward who has spent the last seven seasons as a fixture in the Thunder’s starting lineup. Dort earned an All-Defensive First Team selection and helped Oklahoma City win the championship in 2025. Last season he averaged 8.3 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 26.8 minutes across 69 games.
The Hawks are also receiving Nembhard from Dallas, a guard who will help back up the perimeter rotation.
Why the Thunder are doing this
Oklahoma City has spent the summer clearing salary. The Thunder have now sent out Dort, Isaiah Joe (to Detroit for two second-round picks) and Aaron Wiggins (to the Hawks for two second-round picks) in separate deals, accumulating seven second-round picks in total.
The trade gives the Thunder a rare combination of cost certainty and asset accumulation. They are absorbing no long-term salary in the deal while adding draft capital that can be packaged later or used to sweeten incoming offers. The assumption around the league for months had been that Dort would not remain on this roster; the only question was when and at what return.
Why the Mavericks are doing this
Dallas is acquiring a former No. 1 overall pick at a discount. The Mavericks gave up Nembhard and a second-round pick in the deal for Risacher, essentially a buy-low opportunity on a young wing whose draft stock has cooled since his rookie season.
For Dallas, the calculus is upside. Risacher was the top pick in a draft that has been widely viewed as relatively weak. If his shot-making and defense return to the form that made him a lottery lock in 2024, the Mavericks will have acquired a starter on a manageable contract. If not, the cost is contained.
What the Hawks are getting
Atlanta’s motivation is the clearest. The Hawks have spent two years trying to find a defensive stopper who can match up with the league’s best wings. Dort fits that profile directly. He is not a high-volume scorer, but he is the kind of player who can be slotted next to Trae Young to give the Hawks a credible two-way identity.
The trade also reflects an organizational pivot. Risacher, as a French rookie prospect, was always a longer-term project than his draft slot suggested. By moving him now — when his trade value is still anchored to that No. 1 selection rather than two seasons of inconsistent production — Atlanta extracts a player closer to his prime at a position of greater immediate need.
The cap sheet
The trade is structured as a salary dump for Oklahoma City. The Hawks, who have been willing to absorb contracts in exchange for assets in past deals, take on Dort’s remaining money and the second-round picks that go with the package.
The Nembhard addition gives Atlanta a young guard who can develop behind Young and provides injury insurance at a position where the Hawks have been thin.
What it means in Atlanta
The Hawks open training camp in late September with a different roster shape than they had 24 hours ago. The Trae Young backcourt now has a more defensive-minded wing alongside it, and the front office has signaled — through both this deal and the earlier Wiggins pickup — that perimeter defense is the priority for this roster build.
For Risacher, who played 75 games as a rookie and started 73 of them, the move ends his Atlanta tenure after two seasons. His development path will now run through Dallas.
Sources: ESPN via The Athletic — Lu Dort to Hawks? Trade grades for 3-team swap, July 19, 2026; Hoopsrumors — Dort To Hawks, Risacher To Mavericks In Three-Team Trade, July 19, 2026; Yahoo Sports — Thunder trade Lu Dort to Hawks; former No. 1 pick Zaccharie Risacher heads to Mavericks in 3-team deal, July 19, 2026
