The Thunder moved All-Defensive wing Luguentz Dort to the Hawks on Sunday as part of a three-team trade that brought three second-round picks back to Oklahoma City, sent 2024 No. 1 overall pick Zaccharie Risacher to the Mavericks and routed Ryan Nembhard to Atlanta.
Oklahoma City’s offseason reset has now netted seven second-round selections while helping the franchise dip below the second apron and trim $200 million in salary through the departures of Dort, Isaiah Joe and Aaron Wiggins.
Instead of declining Dort’s $17.7 million team option and simply clearing the money from the books, the Thunder exercised it and turned the move into a broader roster-building play: three future assets, a $17 million trade exception and a fresh opportunity for a key piece of their 2025 championship team to pursue a long-term deal in Atlanta that Oklahoma City could not realistically offer.
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“This was a financial decision. The impression I have been given is that the savings generated this summer, and from being out of the tax the last several years, will be re-allocated to future teams,” Thunder general manager Sam Presti told The Oklahoman.
For Atlanta, the deal adds a 27-year-old high-level defender to a wing group that already includes Dyson Daniels and Nickeil Alexander-Walker, while the Hawks are also positioned to have more than $40 million in cap space next summer.
Dort exits as the longest-tenured Thunder player, having grown from an undrafted two-way signing in 2019 into a core contributor who earned multiple extensions with the organization. Presti said he deeply values what Dort represents and acknowledged the franchise will feel his absence.
“Losing Lu will certainly have an affect on the team, but I think we are positioned well to reimagine ourselves and continue to find new avenues to win,” Presti told the Oklahoman. “Cason [Wallace] and Ajay [Mitchell] will have more responsibility, as will others.”
Mavericks president Masai Ujiri and general manager Mike Schmitz targeted Risacher this summer and add him to a retooling roster around young players under new coach Dusty May.
Nembhard earned a standard contract after strong performances on a two-way deal as a rookie last season in Dallas. He and Dort are both from Canada.
Dort averaged 8.3 points and 3.6 rebounds in 69 games last season. In seven seasons, all with the Thunder, he has averaged 11.6 points and 3.8 rebounds per game. He was named a member of the NBA’s All-Defensive first team in 2025.
Risacher, 21, averaged 9.6 points and 3.8 rebounds in 67 games last season, his second in the NBA. He finished as runner-up to Stephon Castle in Rookie of the Year voting after the 2024-25 season.
Nembhard, 23, averaged 6.6 points, 5.3 assists and 2.2 rebounds in 60 games last season.
