The Dallas Mavericks were part of a three-team trade Sunday that landed them Zaccharie Risacher from the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for Ryan Nembhard and a second round pick. With the move, Dallas swaps a part-time starter for the No. 1 pick of the 2024 NBA Draft.
This is a very low-risk, potentially high-reward move for Dallas. The undrafted Nembhard was a part-time starter who brought stability to the team last season when guard play was in high demand. He showed flashes of brilliance when it came
to ball handling, often producing absurd assist-to-turnover ratios for a solid stretch. Yet, Nembhard is a relatively undersized player who was all but certainly going to lose minutes to the returning Kyrie Irving and newly acquired Marcus Sasser.
Risacher on the other hand, is former first overall pick who has not quite lived up to the status that comes with such a selection, yet nonetheless finished second in Rookie of the Year voting in 2024-25 and who fits well with the Cooper Flagg timeline; he is two years younger than Nembhard and will play most of next season as a 21-year old. His contract is more robust than Nembhard’s, but the Mavericks hold virtually all the cards.
The nuances of the contract
Risacher comes to Dallas with two years remaining on his contract. The Hawks exercised a club option on him to lock him in for the 2026-27 season, which he will now play in Dallas, getting paid $13.8 million. 2027-28 is the final year of his current contract, but that too remains a team option, leaving the Mavericks with great control of the situation. However, that control comes with a caveat.
On the surface, it appears Dallas could simply walk after this coming season if they don’t like what they see, but there is more to the story. If the Mavericks plan on locking down Risacher and his $17.4 million for the 2027-28 season, they will need to do so just a few games into his Mavericks’ tenure. The Mavericks have until October 31, 2026 to exercise the team option for 2027-28 season. If they choose to exercise the option and Risacher does not work out, Dallas is stuck with him and a $17.4 million bill. If they choose not to exercise the option and Risacher has a breakout season, Dallas will have market competition to retain him. Risacher will no longer be an unrestricted free agent in this scenario, but Dallas will retain his Bird Rights.
What to expect
While we don’t know the philosophical approach the Mavs’ front office will follow, for my hypothetical money, Dallas is going to exercise their option on Risacher and commit to him for the remaining two years on his contract. To me, this is a no-brainer.
Risacher was drafted two years ago, but is of an age that he could easily have been in the Draft this past June. He is just shy of two years older than Flagg, so he is well aligned with the timeline of the face of the franchise. Ultimately, it’s difficult to determine any reason not to take the chance here. Risacher may benefit from a scenery change, and the tutelage of Dusty May, Joe Boylan and the player-friendly coaching staff forming in Dallas could yet bring the best out of him. For what relatively little they gave up to get him, it makes sense for Dallas to commit in the short term to see what Risacher can yet become. This is especially true if the forward-heavy team is trimmed down a bit if and when a veteran or two is moved. In a worst-case scenario, they will have a $17 million expiring contract to dangle as trade bait in 2027-28.
Whatever the case, we have just over three months (or less) until we find out. For now, Dallas continues to put together a young, long and rangy team of athletes around Cooper Flagg, with most of the summer yet to play out.
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