Sensible and sad: Lu Dort trade grades

Adjudicating the Dallas Mavericks, Atlanta Hawks, and Oklahoma City Thunder

The worst part about being late to the trade-grade party is that someone else will have already taken all the good lines. In this case, The Ringer’s Michael Pina sums up my feelings pretty well: “Whoa, a three-team trade that makes sense for everyone involved despite being pretty sad and unnecessary. How wonderful!”

First, the deets:

OKC receives: three second-rounders (‘27 CHI, ‘31 best of Hawks/Rockets, ‘32 best of Hawks/Lakers)
Atlanta receives: Lu Dort, Ryan Nembhard
Dallas receives: Zaccharie Risacher

This is a perfectly understandable, if all-around depressing, trade for nearly everyone in question.

For Oklahoma City, the writing’s been on the wall in non-washable marker for a while now. Ever since they picked up Dort’s option and paid out a big number to re-sign Isaiah Hartenstein (and went higher-than-expected on Kenrich Williams), it was nearly certain that they’d be angling to move Dort.

Sam Presti, thankfully, didn’t blame the aprons, calling it purely a “financial decision.” The Thunder saved close to $100 million in salary and taxes with this move alone. Technically, this creates a ~$18 million trade exception, but I’d be flabbergasted if the Thunder did anything with it. Championship contenders should be willing to pay more to field a team, but how many people would want to pay almost nine figures for a player who might have been eighth or ninth in OKC’s pecking order?

On a night-to-night basis, the Thunder don’t need Dort anymore. He did not have his best season last year on either end of the ball. His three-pointer didn’t quite abandon him, but it definitely glanced at the back door a little too often for comfort:

Only 14% of his shots came at the rim, the lowest share of his career, and for the first time since the Thunder became The Thunder, the team was significantly better with him off the floor than on (although they were plenty good with him playing).

Cason Wallace and Ajay Mitchell are likely better players overall. Alex Caruso can do what Dort does (albeit in fewer minutes), and Jared McCain’s shooting will be even more important to OKC without Isaiah Joe around. Dort became expendable. It’s important to note that Dort is in the last year of his deal, and with the Thunder getting even more expensive next year (when Shai’s supermax brings his salary from $40 million to $60 million), it’s hard to see a world where they could have retained him. Perhaps they wanted to get whatever value they could, and the seconds they got back are relatively juicy (for seconds).

Still, Dort is ingrained in the Thunder’s culture. He brings an alley-fight edge that they’ll miss. Even after a down year, I hold his defense in high regard, particularly against strength-based players, and he’s at least a willing three-point shooter. There will be playoff nights where OKC has a Dort-sized hole on the court.

The Thunder are an inner-circle contender. Every move on the margin matters, and I don’t want to celebrate cutting costs for one of the few teams that could justify going into the second apron and paying a big tax bill. But there’s also a real case to be made that, even beyond the obvious financial motivations, there simply wasn’t a big enough role for Dort to justify keeping him. It seems plausible to me that if Dort’s options were being traded or accepting a middle-of-the-bench role, he might’ve preferred an opportunity somewhere else.

To paraphrase Pina from the top: This trade is sensible. But it’s still a little bit depressing. And if the team doesn’t “re-allocate [the savings] to future teams,” as Presti suggested they will, I’ll feel a whole lot harsher than I already do.

OKC grade: C-

Historically, doing business with the Thunder has been a dangerous game. But Atlanta, understanding OKC’s financial predicament, has now done it twice in one offseason, first with Aaron Wiggins and now Dort. I like both moves just fine for them.

The Hawks are setting up a live-wire electric fence around their paint. Pity the poor ballhandlers who have to navigate Dyson Daniels’ reaching, stretching arms, Nickeil-Alexander-Walker’s ceaseless pursuit, and now Dort’s controversial physicality and strength. Onyeka Okongwu and Jalen Johnson aren’t the world’s most intimidating rim protectors, so the Hawks have compensated by going all-in on perimeter defense.

Unless Dort’s shot recommits to their relationship, the fit here isn’t perfect. The Hawks’ wing rotation is nearly as crowded as OKC’s. I bet Dort and Daniels platoon a little bit, as Daniels is the trigger-unhappy cutter and screener while Dort is more comfortable bombing away from deep. The two guards are about as different as high-level perimeter defenders could possibly be, which gives coach Quin Snyder pleasing optionality.

The Hawks could absolutely use an infusion of nasty, which Dort will apply.

This is the final year of Dort’s deal, and Atlanta’s done a fantastic job of maintaining their books. They should try to extend him on the cheap, although the 27-year-old might want to bet on his shot in hopes of scrounging up another big payday. There’s always a chance he leaves in free agency next summer, which would be a small letdown, but it’s a perfectly reasonable risk to run.

Ryan Nembhard is a small but solid backup point guard with real passing chops and a hint of an outside jumper. With the Hawks re-signing CJ McCollum to a one-year deal, rookie Kingston Flemings likely to assume a prominent role sooner than later, and guys like Alexander-Walker, Daniels, and Devin Carter absorbing the rest of the ballhandling duties, I don’t see a lot of room for him here. I think Nembhard has a future in this league, but we’ll see if he makes it through the season on Atlanta.

I am a little bummed that the Hawks cut bait with Zaccharie Risacher already. Risacher’s second season was hardly the most inspiring. He landed on my list of the season’s biggest disappointments; it’s kind of telling that this article wasn’t called “Zaccharie Risacher trade grades,” right?

But 6’9” players with a half-decent three-point shot and some off-ball defensive skills don’t grow on trees, and it’s not like he’s been a disaster. This almost felt like ATL just wanted to get away from the optics, the story of a number-one pick who hasn’t lived up to lofty expectations.

Risacher is striving and failing to find his standout NBA skill, the thing that lets him make an impact every night. Atlanta got tired of waiting, and given how they invested a number-one pick in him (a different front office, but still), that should be a warning sign to the rest of the league.

In the end, the Hawks make an upgrade for a reasonable cost. If you flap away the smell of sadness, it’s hard to argue against this move.

Atlanta grade: B

Ah, Dallas, the one team for whom this trade is neither sad nor particularly sensible.

I have a piece half-written, one I teased a little during a conversation in the comments with a reader, about how Masai Ujiri is re-making the Mavericks in the image of his old Raptors team. Project 6’9” (Part Deux) is here!

However, it’s currently unclear whether Ujiri learned any lessons from his original go. It’s great to have a team full of power-forward-sized guys, as long as at least a couple of them have disparate skill sets to fill traditional basketball roles. Ryan Nembhard was a perfectly solid reserve floor general; he’s gone now, which means the team’s point guard depth is a hoary Kyrie Irving coming off a torn ACL, shoot-first Marcus Sasser, who struggled to find any consistent role in Detroit, and late first-rounder Sergio De Larrea.

I like the idea of buying low on a former first overall pick, as Dallas only had to give up a backup point guard and a single second-round pick. I haven’t given up on Risacher yet, even if I understand why the Hawks did. A new environment could be exactly what he needs.

But this team seems hell-bent on collecting as many forwards as it can. It’s starting to seriously concern me. Ujiri’s family might need to hold an intervention.

I will go deeper on the Mavs later this summer, but I’m waiting. I just can’t imagine that this is the final roster. There’s a lot of talent on this squad right now, but it’s like doing a jigsaw puzzle in the dark. It’s impossible to tell how the pieces fit.

Dallas grade: C+ (for now)