One Young Player Who Should Be Thrilled About the Atlanta Hawks Offseason

The Atlanta Hawks have been flying under the radar this offseason, due to their lack of flashy moves and instead focusing on getting younger by bringing in three rookies via the draft, re-signing some of their own free agents, and acquiring Aaron Wiggins and Devin Carter via trade in two deals that did not get much attention.

Despite going 20-6 after the All-Star Break and being the only team that beat the Knicks multiple times in a playoff series, Atlanta continued to show restraint when it came to continuing to build out this team. The front office relayed that they did not think this franchise was one player away and that they were not going to skip steps in doing so.

This team should still be a playoff contender if there young players continue to improve, but who is likely to benefit the most from the new players that have been brought in?

Rebound year for Zaccharie Risacher?

Zaccharie Risacher Atlanta Hawk — Mar 20, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; Atlanta Hawks forward Zaccharie Risacher (10) shoots outside against the Houston Rockets during the fourth quarter at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Erik Williams-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

It was a tough second season in the NBA for Zaccharie Risacher.

After finishing as the runner-up for the Rookie of the Year award after the 2024-2025 season, Risacher did not have the kind of second season that he or the team had hoped for. His scoring average fell to 9.6 PPG while his shooting numbers (46% from the field, 37% from three) largely stayed the same.

One noticeable difference between Risacher's rookie and sophomore season was how he seemed to lack confidence, but it was also that he was not playing with a true point guard.

While Risacher has struggled overall during his first two NBA seasons, he is very good at leaking out in transition, cutting to the basket, and finding a way to knockdown open three-pointers. Those things came naturally during his rookie season because he got to play alongside Trae Young, who is one of the top passers and shot creators in the NBA, and he helped get the ball to Risacher to help him find open shots, whether it was leaking out in transition, cutting, or shooting from deep.

With Young gone, those opportunities did not come easily. Risacher struggles to create his own shot and benefits from playing next to a high-level playmaker. While they are very good at other things, CJ McCollum, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, and Dyson Daniels are not that.

All three of those players are back and going to be in the starting lineup for the Hawks, so how is Risacher supposed to improve?

I think Kingston Flemings is going to do a lot of good for Risacher.

Now, Flemings is just a rookie, and expectations for his first season in the league should not be trying to be as good as Trae Young, but he has flashed some high-level passing and ability to run an offense in Summer League.

Kingston dials up Zuby in the corner 📞 pic.twitter.com/RgXxoLg2vy
— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) July 12, 2026

While there has been trade speculation surrounding Risacher, the Hawks could really benefit from him turning into a rotational level player in the NBA. While he was taken No. 1 overall, it was in one of the weakest drafts of all time and he should not carry regular expectations that No. 1 overall picks usually carry.

The Hawks bench needs to be better next season if they hope to get back to the playoffs and a part of that is going to be Risacher getting better and giving this team real minutes. Flemings, Aaron Wiggins, and Jock Landale seem to be locks to be a part of the top eight of the rotation, but with Jonathan Kuminga a free agent and Corey Kispert having major defensive flaws, Atlanta has question marks along the wing.

I think that Quin Snyder needs to try and pair Risacher with Flemings as much as possible to maximize his skillset and see if they can rediscover what made him such an effective player as a rookie.

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