While the Hawks improved in the short term by trading Zaccharie Risacher and second-round draft capital for Luguentz Dort and Ryan Nembhard, it’s still a disappointing ending to the 21-year-old’s tenure in Atlanta, writes John Hollinger of The Athletic.

Risacher was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 draft, but he was selected by previous general manager Landry Fields, Hollinger notes. Current GM Onsi Saleh essentially used Risacher as a salary-matching piece in Sunday’s trade and now won’t have to worry about whether or not to exercise the French forward’s fourth-year option (worth $17.4MM) for 2027/28.

Risacher was “well-liked in Atlanta and considered a hard worker,” according to Hollinger, but there was persistent talk that he wasn’t tough enough — head coach Quin Snyder publicly said he wanted Risacher to be more aggressive and pull down more rebounds after he removed him from the starting lineup in February.

Although Risacher hasn’t been nearly as valuable to this point in his career as 2024 draftees like Stephon Castle, Alex Sarr and Donovan Clingan, he was still a “viable rotation player” over his first two seasons and has untapped upside, Hollinger writes. It’s unclear if he’ll fulfill his potential in a crowded forward rotation in Dallas, Hollinger adds.

Here’s more from around the Eastern Conference:

• The two second-round picks the Hawks traded to the Thunder to acquire Dort are the most favorable of Atlanta’s and Houston’s selections in 2031 and the most favorable of Atlanta’s and the Lakers’ picks in 2032, a source tells Brad Rowland of Locked on Hawks (Twitter link). The Hawks also sent the Mavs a top-55 protected second-rounder in 2027, as previously announced.
• In a subscriber-only story for The Detroit Free Press, Omari Sankofa II reports that the Pistons have yet to offer Jalen Duren a 25% max contract — the restricted free agent center is eligible for up to 30% after making the All-NBA third team this past season. According to Sankofa, Detroit is wary of overpaying Duren in a market where he seemingly has very little leverage, but it does want to re-sign him. Whether he’s willing to accept something less than that 25% figure remains to be seen.
• New Bulls center Nic Claxton recently took to Twitter to send a thank you message to the Nets and their fans after spending his first seven NBA seasons in Brooklyn.