The Hawks acquiring Lu Dort in exchange for Zaccharie Risacher was a bold move by GM Onsi Saleh.
While Risacher could very well still possess untapped upside just waiting to emerge for the Dallas Mavericks, acquiring the proven vet to bolster the Hawks' defense is hard to argue with. Despite how intimidating the Hawks are looking heading into next season, though, nothing is guaranteed.
With the rest of the Eastern Conference bulking up - Giannis joining Miami, LeBron joining Philly along with Jaylen Brown, and Tyrese Haliburton returning from injury in Indiana, it won't be a cakewalk - in fact, there's a very real chance Atlanta fails to return to the playoffs if a few key variables don't go their way.
In such a scenario, Atlanta is far from stuck - Onsi Saleh has shown a prolific ability to flip assets in the blink of an eye to pivot to his organization's needs. A mock trade to acquire their own 2027 first back from San Antonio wouldn't be any deviation from the norm he's established.
Nothing is guaranteed in the NBA, especially in a stacked conference
While I wholeheartedly believe in the roster Saleh constructed to not only make the playoffs, but seriously contend for homecourt advantage in a loaded Eastern Conference, the NBA is full of surprises.
By far the largest question mark in today's NBA is injury. With how rapidly players are asked to move up and down the court to keep up with the fast-paced brand of modern basketball, it shouldn't come as a surprise that serious injuries have been ramping up.
The long-term ACL/achilles injuries to Jayson Tatum, Damian Lillard, Dejounte Murray, and Kyrie Irving are just a few of the big names to go down with serious ailments in the last several seasons. While Atlanta has thus far avoided such a serious injury bug, there's no guarantee that trend will continue next year.
In the event Atlanta ends up near the middle/bottom of the East, San Antonio could be the perfect trade partner, assuming they're still floating near the top of the West.
San Antonio could poach their bitter rival's former defensive asset
It's no secret that the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder aren't exactly amicable towards one another.
While the budding rivalry hasn't quite reached Lakers vs. Celtics levels of animosity, one could argue that it's well on its way to achieving a similar level of disdain from both sides.
With the Chet Holmgren and Victor Wembanyama "rivalry" paving the road towards an exhilarating 7-game Western Conference finals, it's not a surprise that Sam Presti helped Atlanta to secure two valuable assets in Luguentz Dort and Aaron Wiggins, seeing as San Antonio owns the Hawks' 2027 first-round pick.
While it would be a steep price to pay for San Antonio, acquiring the aging Lu Dort at the cost of returning Atlanta's first-round pick could be exactly what they need to get past OKC yet again - remember, OKC was bereft of Jalen Williams nearly the entire series in the WCF.
Due to the changes to the draft lottery system, Atlanta concluding the season around the play-in tournament would lead to a far more lucrative pick, as far as the ping-pong balls go next May. Should San Antonio part ways with Atlanta's pick, the Hawks could very well end up with two top picks - their own, and the worst of New Orleans' and Milwaukee's picks.
Add us as a preferred source on Google