The Atlanta Hawks introduced newly acquired guard Lu Dort and second-year guard Ryan Nembhard to Atlanta reporters Monday afternoon, the day after a three-team trade with the Oklahoma City Thunder and Dallas Mavericks that sent 2024 No. 1 overall pick Zaccharie Risacher to Dallas. National outlets filed grades overnight as the structure of the deal continued to settle across the league.
ESPN’s Shams Charania first reported the framework on Sunday. The Hawks received Dort from Oklahoma City and Nembhard from Dallas, while sending Risacher and a protected future second-round pick to the Mavericks and two future second-round picks to the Thunder. Dallas also sent one future second-round pick to OKC as part of the three-way balance.
What the grades say
NBA.com published its Hawks breakdown Monday, characterizing the trade as a clear defensive upgrade. The site noted that Dort was an All-Defensive First Team selection and that adding him to a backcourt already featuring Trae Young and Dyson Daniels gives Atlanta one of the league’s most disruptive perimeter groups on paper.
CBS Atlanta framed the move as a bet on proven defense over draft equity, pointing to Risacher’s uneven two seasons in Atlanta and the Mavericks’ need for a young forward to pair with Cooper Flagg as the central logic of the deal from Dallas’s side.
USA Today’s OKC Thunder Wire handed Atlanta a B in a dedicated trade grade, citing the immediate fit with Quin Snyder’s system but noting that Nembhard, 23, still has to prove he can hold a rotation spot over a full season. The Thunder Wire grade for Oklahoma City was higher, reflecting the three additional second-round picks that bring the Thunder’s offseason total to seven following the earlier Aaron Wiggins-to-Hawks and Isaiah Joe-to-Pistons swaps.
How Dort and Nembhard fit
Dort, 26, has built his career on perimeter defense and corner threes. He averaged 8.6 points on 39.4% shooting from three last season and is widely credited with setting the tone for an Oklahoma City defense that finished near the top of the league in efficiency.
Nembhard, drafted in the second round out of Creighton in 2024, spent most of his rookie season with the Mavericks’ G League affiliate. Atlanta’s front office has tracked him as a developmental piece with point-of-attack defensive upside and the kind of pick-and-roll patience that pairs well with Young’s downhill game.
What the Hawks gave up
Risacher was taken No. 1 overall in 2024 by the previous Atlanta front office, with the bet that his shotmaking and positional size would translate. Two seasons in, the production was modest — 9.4 points per game on 41% shooting — and he was benched on February 22 before returning in a reduced role.
The trade represents the clearest signal yet of new Atlanta leadership’s roster philosophy: prioritize defense and toughness over draft pedigree, and treat the 2025 No. 13 pick Asa Newell as the developmental forward of the future.
Looking ahead
The Hawks open Summer League play this week in Las Vegas. Dort and Nembhard are expected to be on the floor for Atlanta’s first game, with Snyder scheduled to meet the Atlanta media again Wednesday. Roster moves are not done — Atlanta remains active on the buyout market and continues to monitor wings who can defend at the level Dort sets.
The trade also clears about $9 million in 2026-27 cap space, which the Hawks can roll into next summer’s pursuit of a max-tier free agent or use to absorb a contract in a subsequent trade.
