Sunday morning before the grand final of the FIFA World Cup, and it didn't stop ESPN's Shams Charania from working on breaking trade news. The Dallas Mavericks will get former No. 1 overall pick Zaccharie Risacher in a three-way trade with the Atlanta Hawks and Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Thunder get three-second-round picks, and the Hawks will get Lu Dort and Ryan Nembhard. The young Gonzaga guard was a great addition to the Mavericks, but his size made fans question his ability to play defense long-term. Now, Nembhard joins a Hawks team that's looking for more playoff success, and they see that without the 2024 No. 1 pick.
The Mavericks made this a slam dunk trade for two reasons. Let's break down what this means going forward and why this was a surprising, but killer trade.
The Zaccharie Risacher-Anthony Davis rumors shows the Mavericks won this trade in value
It was a few months ago when a swap between Anthony Davis and Risacher was in talks, but those talks ultimately fell through, and the Mavs ended up trading AD to the Washington Wizards.
Now, the Mavs got Risacher, the former No. 1 overall pick two years ago, for Nembhard, a bench player who's going to be third on the depth chart with the Hawks. That's assuming the Hawks' depth chart at PG is CJ McCollum, Kingston Flemings and Nembhard.
The Mavericks essentially just lost a bench piece for Risacher. Even though he's not having the best two years as a No. 1 pick should, we shouldn't call him Anthony Bennett or Michael Olowokandi just yet. He may have needed another team to rely on.
The Hawks are going in a different direction with McCollum, Dyson Daniels and Nickeil
Alexander-Walker. It's not with Risacher, but falling with the Mavericks may have saved his NBA career, and he's going to be playing next to Cooper Flagg, another No. 1 pick.
Mavericks' Sergio De Larrea is on a heater and will play valuable minutes this season
The NBA Summer League is a chance to get to know new faces, but one face in particular has stood out more than the others.
Sergio De Larrea has been on a tear this summer, and he's showing exactly what the Mavs' coaching staff wants to see. He's patient with the basketball and can find his teammates with ease. Oh yeah, and it helps that he can also shoot the basketball from deep, which is one of the Mavericks' Achilles' heels going into this season.
The Spanish guard made his name known, and he stood out next to Nembhard in summer league action. Still a work in progress, but with Nembhard now gone, there's no position competition anymore. He should be Kyrie Irving's backup come opening night.
It's a trade that's going to have a lot of reaction, but this is more of a passing grade than anything else.
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