Always business

In professional sports, player movement always happens and some transactions don’t make fans happy. It’s also business that does not only concern roster upgrades but financial flexibility. Management has to cut some players to save on payroll as well as to avoid the league’s salary cap tax.

In a three-team deal involving the Dallas Mavericks, the Atlanta Hawks and the Oklahoma City Thunder, they moved Zaccharie Risacher, Isaiah Joe, Aaron Wiggins and all-defensive wing Luguentz Dort. OKC got three second-round picks and have now acquired seven second-round picks, building their future.

Dort and Wiggins were relocated to the Hawks, thus joining another defensive specialists Dyson Daniels and Nickeil Alexander Walker, last season’s most improved player. Atlanta also got point guard Aaron Nembhart from the Mavericks. The move has made the Hawks defensively better.

Dort will be a free agent at the end of the upcoming season and is due $17 million but OKC has one of the most expensive payrolls in the league and their finances are tied up with the massive contracts of Shai Gilgeous Alexander, Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams with a combined amount of $763 million. Dort became expendable and without him, OKC’s main defensive line will be on Isaiah Hartenstein and Cason Wallace, who both have better stats compared to Dort. With the Hawks, he can get a long-term deal.

Atlanta sent Risacher and a second-round pick to Dallas and the Mavericks now have three former number one picks in their roster – Kyrie Irving (2011), Cooper Flagg (2025) and Risacher (2024). The 21-year-old, 6-8 Risacher’s addition adds more youth to the Mavericks’ young rotation of Flagg (19), Max Christie (23), Morez Johnson Jr. (20), Derek Lively II (22) and Sergio de Larea (20). With only Irving and Marcus Sasser below 6-5, the Mavericks had also gotten bigger.

Risacher finished second behind Stephon Castle in the 2024 Rookie of the Year race but had underwhelmed from his rookie season. After the arrival of Jonathan Kuminga and Corey Kispert in a mid-season trade, he had his role diminished and eventually eased out of the rotation. He only played one game in the playoff series against New York and Atlanta decided to move on without him.

Under new head coach Dusty May, who replaced Jason Kidd. Risacher hopefully will find a career revival in Dallas, if he cracks the rotation.

Like it or not, player movement is not all about upgrades but it’s always business.