Grading 3-Team Mavericks-Hawks-Thunder Trade Involving Lu Dort, Zaccharie Risacher

On Sunday, the Dallas Mavericks, Atlanta Hawks and Oklahoma City Thunder swung an interesting trade that makes some sense for everyone involved.

ESPN's Shams Charania was first with the details.

Below, we've put the red pen to everyone to grade each team on the classic A through F scale.

Oklahoma City Thunder: B+

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The "second apron" has come for every cap sheet in the NBA like the grim reaper. Contenders and former champions are no exception.

This deal isn't purely about that—OKC's front office is as good as any at collecting, repurposing or using second-round picks, and they go three here—but that's obviously the driving factor.

The Thunder were roughly $12 million over the line, which brings several team-building penalties with it. By unloading Dort's $17.7 million salary (which was picked up as a team option earlier this summer), they've regained access to the ability to trade certain picks, to use cash and trade exceptions in trades, and more.

Those penalties have scared the entire league enough that literally every team is now on track to play the season under the second-apron line.

And in general, OKC deserves kudos for figuring out how to do that. It wasn't the Dort trade alone that got them here. They also had to unload Isaiah Joe and Aaron Wiggins. In concert with Sunday's deal, they've acquired seven future second-rounders this summer.

That's shrewd maneuvering from a front office that hasn't had many missteps in recent years. It'll also open up minutes for younger players like Cason Wallace, Nikola Topić and Jared McCain.

But we can't quite go with an A here, because the Thunder are obviously still within striking distance of a championship. And all three of the players salary-dumped this summer could've helped them win.

There's at least an argument that they would've been worth another year of short-term pain.

Atlanta Hawks: B

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Your opinion of this trade for the Hawks depends entirely on what you think of Zaccharie Risacher. And obviously, Atlanta was just out on him.

Two years after he was selected first overall in the 2024 draft, Risacher found himself out of the Hawks' playoff rotation.

He has career averages of 11.1 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.2 assists, with below-average marks in both effective field-goal percentage and true shooting percentage.

At least by the numbers, he's been one of the most underwhelming No. 1 picks since Anthony Bennett.

And from a short-term perspective, it's easy to see why Atlanta spent some ho-hum assets to swap him out for Dort and Ryan Nembhard.

The former will immediately fit into a defense-first approach that helped the Hawks turn around after the Trae Young trade. Lineups with Dort, Dyson Daniels and Nickeil Alexander-Walker could be a nightmare to play against.

And Nembhard has a very good chance to better than whoever's drafted with those future picks. He's already had games and moments when he looks like a prototypical, steady-handed backup point guard.

But giving up on a first overall pick just two years after drafting him looks (and could eventually prove to be) terrible.

Dallas Mavericks: A

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This is a near-no-brainer for the Mavericks.

Only one of the three second-rounders going to OKC is from them. And while Nembhard was a fun story for a two-way player last season, he doesn't have near the upside Risacher does.

The new Maverick is nine inches taller, is much easier to work into an NBA defensive scheme and has had stretches where he looked like a legitimately dangerous floor spacer.

The price to pay here is minuscule, especially when you consider how well Risacher fits (at least in theory) alongside the rest of a young core that includes Cooper Flagg (an alpha point forward), Dereck Lively (a rim-runner and -protector), Morez Johnson Jr. (versatile interior defender), Sergio de Larrea (potential lead playmaker) and Tarik Biberovic (a high-end shooter who could be on the opposite pick-and-roll flank from Risacher).

All of the above are 25 and under.

Suddenly, Dallas has one of the most intriguing young cores in the NBA, and it's about more than Flagg.