NBA trade: Atlanta Hawks land Lu Dort in three-team deal
Luguentz Dort #5 of the Oklahoma City Thunder celebrates during the game against the San Antonio Spurs during Game Seven of the NBA Western Conference Finals on May 30, 2026 at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. (Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/N
ATLANTA - The Oklahoma City Thunder agreed to trade starting forward Lu Dort to the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday as part of a three-team deal that sends Zaccharie Risacher to the Dallas Mavericks, according to a person familiar with the negotiation.
What we know:
Atlanta lands Dort, a proven defensive star who averaged 11.6 points over his first seven years with the Thunder. The Hawks are also acquiring Ryan Nembhard from Dallas, who averaged 6.6 points during his rookie season.
Meanwhile, Dallas receives Risacher, the runner-up for the 2024-25 rookie of the year award who averaged 11.1 points in Atlanta. Risacher joins Kyrie Irving and Cooper Flagg, giving the Mavericks three former No. 1 overall draft selections on their roster.
The Thunder receive three heavily protected second-round draft picks in the exchange. This financial move allows Oklahoma City to drop its team salary below the strict second apron level of the league.
What we don't know:
Officials have not yet confirmed when the league will give final approval to the three-team agreement. The person spoke to The Associated Press anonymously because the terms cannot be publicly announced until that review is complete.
The Source: The information in this story was gathered from The Associated Press, who explained how we got it from a person with knowledge of the agreement on condition of anonymity, as well as initial trade term reports from ESPN, The Stein Line and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.