Lu Dort And Zaccharie Risacher Involved In Depressing Trade

On Sunday, the Oklahoma City Thunder, Atlanta Hawks, and Dallas Mavericks completed https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/49400155/thunder-send-dort-hawks-three-team-trade-sources-say">a three-team trade that was depressing for at least two big reasons.

The first reason: Just two years after being selected first overall in the NBA Draft, Zaccharie Risacher has been kicked to the curb.

The 21-year-old Frenchman had already fallen out of Atlanta's wing rotation during the regular season, and saw scant garbage-time minutes in the team's first-round playoff exit.

To acquire a former No. 1 pick entering his third season, the Mavs only had to give up a second-round pick and undersized backup point guard Ryan Nembhard, who will go to Atlanta.

The 2024 draft was thought to be a weak crop, but plenty of players taken in the first round, and possibly a handful taken in the second, appear to be headed for more fruitful NBA careers than Risacher.

On an optimistic read, he's still got enough size and shooting to stick around someone's rotation after his current contract, but the fact that this is even a subject of speculation for a player of this pedigree is grim.

The second reason this trade is a bummer: Just one year after winning the NBA championship, the Thunder are already cutting costs and losing depth.

Lu Dort, a beefy, goofy, https://defector.com/enough-of-lu-dorts-little-leg-bullshit">dirty wing whose contributions were crucial to OKC's title run—even if his offensive shortcomings hurt them in their 2026 playoff push—was shipped to Atlanta, where he'll play out the last year of his current contract.

In return, the Thunder merely picked up three second-round picks.