The Thunder are trading Luguentz Dort to the Hawks in a three-team deal that will net Oklahoma City three second-round picks, according to Shams Charania of ESPN.
The Hawks will send Zaccharie Risacher, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 draft, to the Mavericks, while Dallas will trade Ryan Nembhard to Atlanta, sources tell ESPN.
According to Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Twitter link), Oklahoma City will receive Chicago’s 2027 second-round pick (via Dallas) and two most favorable second-rounders in 2031 and 2032 (via Atlanta). The Thunder will also create a $17.7MM trade exception equivalent to Dort’s outgoing salary.
As Charania notes, the trade will put the Thunder comfortably beneath the second tax apron and save the team a significant amount of money toward their projected luxury tax bill. Oklahoma City exercised its $17.7MM option on Dort last month and will add three more second-round picks to send him to Atlanta.
The Thunder also traded Isaiah Joe (to the Pistons for two second-round picks) and Aaron Wiggins (to the Hawks for two second-rounders) earlier this month in cost-cutting moves.
Charania suggests Dort could have a long-term future with the Hawks. The 27-year-old small forward has been a fixture in the Thunder’s starting lineup over the past seven seasons, earning a spot on the All-Defensive first team and helping the team win the championship in 2025.
Atlanta was on the lookout for help on the wing and explored other options before agreeing to acquire Dort, Charania reports. The Hawks now have three premier perimeter defenders in Dyson Daniels, Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Dort, who will be extension-eligible throughout the 2026/27 league year.
Dort, 27, is coming off a down statistical season in which he averaged 8.3 points, 3.6 rebounds and 0.9 steals on .385/.344/.759 shooting in 69 games (26.8 minutes per game). The Montreal native averaged 5.5 PPG and 2.7 RPG on .366/.308/.500 shooting (he was 2-of-4 on free throws) in 15 playoff outings (22.3 MPG).
Still, the barrel-chested Dort will provide much-needed toughness to a Hawks team that often lacked in that department last season. Dort, who went undrafted out of Arizona State in 2019, will be an unrestricted free agent next year if he doesn’t sign an extension in ’26/27.
Nembhard, who’s entering his second season, could provide depth at point guard behind rookie Kingston Flemings and veteran CJ McCollum, who’s more of a scorer than a facilitator. However, it’s possible the 23-year-old Canadian may not make the final roster, as Atlanta will have 17 players on standard deals after the trade. Nembhard is owed a guaranteed $2.15MM in ’26/27.
The Mavericks will use their existing $20.8MM traded player exception to take on Risacher’s $13.8MM contract, tweets Yossi Gozlan of Third Apron. Risacher will be owed $17.4MM in ’27/28 if the Mavs pick up his fourth-year option.
Gozlan projects Dallas to be $2.3MM under the luxury tax line after the trade is complete. The team will still have 16 players under standard contract after the move is official, Gozlan adds.
It’s a buy-low opportunity for the Mavs, who essentially gave up a second-round pick and Nembhard to acquire Risacher, a French small forward who was the top pick in a relatively weak draft class. He averaged 11.1 PPG and 3.7 RPG on .457/.360/.686 shooting in 142 games over his first two seasons (23.6 MPG), though his role was reduced in year two — he barely played for Atlanta in the 2026 playoffs (7.7 MPG in three appearances).
