Why the Hawks traded former No. 1 pick Risacher after two yearsRisacher is now on the Mavericks, joining 2025 No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg.
The simplest reason? Risacher just isn't good enough right now to
help the Hawks get to where they want to go.The French wing was taken with the first pick two years ago as part of a draft class
widely viewed as one of the worst of the century. Atlanta moved up the lottery to claim the No. 1 selection but there was little fanfare because there was not a single prospect seen as truly generational. Every NBA draft brings useful players to some degree but it was rather difficult to see where those players would come from in 2024 and it was a near-universal opinion that it was severely lacking in star power.
As a result, the Hawks opted to bet on potential and went with Risacher No. 1. As a prospect his biggest positives were his young age, obvious athletic potential and elite dimensions. If things broke right, it wasn't hard to see a future in which Risacher developed into the sort of long, athletic two-way wing that every contender is searching for. But potential was all he had to offerRisacher scored a hair over 10 points per game in the top French professional league heading into the draft. Which is laudable for an 18-year-old but not exactly a statline that screams future All-Star.
He was a project, in other words. Two years later, he remains a project. To date Risacher has averaged 11.1 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.1 assists for his NBA career. His rookie season was solid, if unspectacular; at 19 years old the French wing scored 12.6 points per game while shooting 35.5% from three and finished second in ROY voting. But as the Hawks took a step forward to contention in Risacher's sophomore season, he took a step back. Risacher's scoring average dropped down to 9.6 in 202526 and he wound up dropping out of Snyder's rotation
for a stretch in January. Risacher eventually made it back onto the floor for short spurts but was clearly not trusted as an option on the wing, a perception confirmed when he played 22 minutes
total in Atlanta's six-game playoff series loss to New York.
There's still reason to believe Risacher can have a career in the NBA. He has good touch as a shooter and tries hard enough defensively that he can hamper most opponents, especially once his body fills out some moreRisacher is still only 21 years old. There's an outline of a passable three-and-D player in his game. But right this second, he is a net negative rotation player who can't be trusted to do much other than make the occasional shot. And the Hawks have no room for such players
as the franchise tries to take a step forward.Nevertheless, Atlanta wasn't trying to ditch him. Risacher's lucrative rookie contract meant he was the neatest salary to use in any trade as well as the most expendable player on the roster making over $10 million. The franchise sought to upgrade the roster with that salary and did so by landing Dort, an elite defender with championship experience, and a true point guard in Nembhard. They weren't looking to get off Risacher's deal at all costs, for whatever that's worth, but the opportunity presented itself.
Risacher's biggest flaw was that he didn't develop quickly enough for the organization's liking. If he proved worthy of playoff minutes this postseason then the Hawks might've rolled the dice that he could be part of their young core along with Jalen Johnson and Nickeil Alexander-Walker going forward. But he remains too big of a question markif and when he'll become a good enough player to help a championship team (and what kind of player he will be if that happens) is totally up in the air.
Atlanta decided to chase a known quantity in Dort instead. And it's hard to blame them.
Searching for Lone Star: A Tale of Two Brothers
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