The Mavericks didn’t wait long for Summer League to end before making their next big move.
On Sunday, Dallas landed former No. 1 overall pick Zaccharie Risacher in a three-team trade with the Atlanta Hawks and Oklahoma City Thunder, adding another international puzzle piece to a roster that’s undergone a big transformation over the past few months.
The Deal
The Thunder traded All-Defensive wing Luguentz Dort to the Hawks, while three second-round picks were sent back to Oklahoma City, with Risacher landing in Dallas and guard Ryan Nembhard heading to Atlanta, per the NBA. The Mavericks used their existing $20.8 million traded player exception, created by the Anthony Davis trade back in February, to absorb Risacher’s $13.8 million salary.
Mavericks president Masai Ujiri and general manager Mike Schmitz had reportedly been targeting Risacher throughout the summer, and the price ended up low: an undrafted rookie point guard and a future second-rounder for a player who was the top pick in the 2024 draft.
Risacher’s rookie year NBA stats were impressive, starting 73 games, averaging 12.6 points, and earning a spot on the All-Rookie First Team that season. However, his role with the Hawks dipped a bit last year, with his minutes dropping and his average falling to 9.6 points per game.
Regardless, at 21, he’s still viewed as a talent worth betting on.
A Month of European Additions
Risacher is the fourth international addition Dallas has made in roughly a month, and the pattern is hard to miss. As previously reported by The Dallas Express, Santi Aldama, the Spanish forward acquired in the Khris Middleton sign-and-trade, joined the squad first. Then came the draft, where Dallas added Spanish League guard Sergio De Larrea and used a late second-rounder on Russian big man Vsevolod Ishchenko – a player who’s already turned heads in Vegas.
Now Risacher, the Frenchman who helped the senior national team at the EuroBasket tournament in 2025, helps round out the new “euro-group.”
Echoes of Dirk
For a franchise that built a championship culture around a European star, the timing feels almost poetic.
Dallas has leaned on international scouting before, but rarely has it stacked four meaningful additions from overseas in a single month. Dirk Nowitzki’s arrival in 1998 reshaped how the Mavericks – and much of the league – thought about recruiting talent from overseas. Nearly three decades later, with the franchise mid-rebuild and searching for its next identity, that same well of talent is where Dallas keeps returning.
None of the four had the kind of immediate impact Dirk Nowitzki made in the league. Aldama, De Larrea, Ishchenko, and Risacher are all developmental pieces, but together they reflect the type of young talent Ujiri and new coach Dusty May want to build the team’s future around.
Looking Ahead
Taking on Risacher’s money pushes Dallas right up against the tax and limits what else the front office can do this year. There’s also a decision on the calendar: Dallas has to decide by October 31 whether to pick up Risacher’s $17.4 million option for 2028-29, so the Mavs will know soon enough whether he’s part of their long-term plan.
Either way, Flagg gets another young, long forward to grow alongside – one more building block in a rebuild leaning hard on youth, size and international scouting. The potential payoff will come into focus at the team’s upcoming training camp, right as Kyrie Irving is expected to return after his torn ACL in 2025.
Provided by Dallas Express
