Zaccharie Risacher snapped a 17-year drought for the Atlanta Hawks, earning All-Rookie First Team honors in 2024-25. He missed out on Rookie of the Year, finishing in second place for the award, and is one of the seemingly few "untouchable" players as a sure-fire building block on the roster.
However, Bleacher Report’s Grant Hughes noted a “truth” that applies to every team when it comes to who is and is not available in trade talks.
Even the Hawks, Hughes figured, would accept some offer for Risacher.
“All-Rookie first-teamer and former No. 1 overall pick Zaccharie Risacher isn't totally untouchable,” Hughes wrote on June 1. “If the Milwaukee Bucks called up and asked for both in a package for Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Hawks would readily include them in a future mortgaging trade for an in-prime superstar.
“This highlights a truth that'll apply several other times in this exercise: Most teams would trade anyone for the right price. It’d just take an extreme offer to pry Atlanta’s rookie wing away.”
A move for Antetokounmpo would certainly elevate the Hawks in 2025-26.
However, Antetokounmpo is 30, and Risacher would only be part of a package that would include other players, even if only for salary-matching purposes, and draft capital to pry the two-time MVP loose from the Bucks.
Other stars the Hawks could wait for
Antetokounmpo might make for a dynamic pairing with four-time All-Star Trae Young, and figures to be the biggest name on the speculative market this offseason.
But are there any other stars who might make better targets for the Hawks?
The list of potential options that a) make even a little sense for the Hawks with Young and b) could be available for a trade before Risacher’s rookie contract expires is light. Players like Anthony Edwards, arguably the best option, Ja Morant, and LaMelo Ball would be odd fits.
Ball and, especially, Morant thrive with the ball in their hands, and moving Young off it for extended stretches only creates additional issues.
Could the Knicks make Karl-Anthony Towns available?
He could step in alongside any combination of players and Young, though the playoffs offered a costly reminder of his deficiencies, which mirror the Hawks star’s in many ways. After that, the Hawks would be exploring options with lower ceilings and/or more significant question marks.
Risacher embodies flexibility for the Hawks, who have high hopes for him and fellow uber-talented forward Jalen Johnson.
They could capitalize on that flexibility this offseason in a trade for Antetokounmpo.
However, the two teams in the 2025 NBA Finals – the Oklahoma City Thunder and Indiana Pacers – were not built on that kind of transaction. If the Hawks feel they are one piece away from contending, and that Antetokounmpo is that piece, a trade for him makes sense.
If the Hawks lean into the youth on their team as they did last offseason and into the campaign, though, then the Hawks are far better served letting Risacher develop.
It is not every year a team lands the No. 1 overall pick of the draft, as Risacher was in 2024.