As the last minutes of trade deadline eve ticked away, the Atlanta Hawks woke up the NBA world with news they are trading Kristaps Porzingis to the Golden State Warriors for Jonathan Kuminga and Buddy Hield.
Kuminga, the No. 7 pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, requested a trade from the Warriors a few weeks ago, and he got his wish less than 24 hours before the deadline, as the embattled but talented wing heads down south to join the young Hawks core. But what does this mean for the Hawks' other young, talented wing who has struggled to find consistency with his outside shot and production, Zaccharie Risacher?
Probably nothing good, unfortunately. I don't want to sound the alarm or make it seem like the Hawks are giving up on last year's No. 1 overall pick, because that's not what this is. Risacher will get plenty more opportunities to show that he should be part of the future in ATL. Giving up on a 20 year-old is always silly, and Risacher was never going to put up massive stats early in his career. He was a project from the start!
With that being said — this team going out and acquiring an extremely similar player to Risacher in Kuminga (who has a team option next season) isn't the kind of move you make if you believe in a guy as the future of a position.
Of course, depth is always welcomed, and having two good, young wings would be wonderful! But the Hawks took on Buddy Hield's contract (which goes through 2028) to get Kuminga, so this does not feel like a "depth" move — it feels like an upside swing on a 23 year-old who has flashed star potential.
Zaccharie Risacher and Jonathan Kuminga are an intriguing wing duo
I won't go as far as calling them a "good" wing duo, to be fair, but they're 20 and 23 years old, so it feels silly to write off either of them.
At the same time, the lack of playmaking between the two makes it hard to envision them sharing the court longterm. So, maybe without meaning to, the Hawks have sent Zaccharie Risacher a message; We want you to succeed, but we have to exhaust all our options, too.
If Jonathan Kuminga ends up becoming the star, then none of this will matter. If Zaccharie Risacher ends up becoming a star, then none of this will matter. In the meantime, a move like this makes it fair to question exactly how the Hawks view Risacher at this stage of his career.