Where the Lu Dort Trade Ranks Among The Atlanta Hawks Moves This Offseason

Before LeBron James opted to sign with the Philadelphia 76ers, the last major move in the NBA came from the Atlanta Hawks, who completed a three-team trade with the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Dallas Mavericks. The Hawks acquired Luguentz Dort from the Thunder and Ryan Nembhard from the Mavericks in exchange for sending former No. 1 pick Zaccharie Risacher to Dallas and a pair of second-round picks to the Thunder.

Since then, the Hawks have gone quiet, like much of the rest of the league around this time of the year. Atlanta still has to cut their roster down from 17 to 15, but there is no rush in doing that at this point in the offseason.

Earlier this offseason, I ranked the Hawks' offseason moves from best to worst, concluding that the earlier trade with the Thunder for Aaron Wiggins was the best move the front office had made, while guaranteeing Buddy Hield's salary was the only real misstep for Atlanta (and still is).

With the Dort trade in the rearview mirror, where should that move rank amongst the others?

Best move of the offseason

Luguentz Dort Oklahoma City Thunde — May 18, 2026; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder forward Luguentz Dort (5) shoots in the third quarter against the San Antonio Spurs during game one of the western conference finals for the 2026 NBA playoffs at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

My updated ranking of the Hawks offseason moves:

1. Trading for Dort and Nembhard
2. Trading for Wiggins
3. Drafting Kingston Flemings, Zuby Ejiofor, and Henri Veesaar
4. Re-signing CJ McCollum
5. Re-signing Jock Landale
6. Picking up Mouhamed Gueye's $2.4 million team option
7. Trading for Devin Carter and a second-round pick
8. Guaranteeing Buddy Hield's contract for this season

Is Dort a perfect fit in Atlanta? No, I have offensive questions about how he will play alongside some of the other main pieces in Atlanta, particularly Dyson Daniels, if Dort can't get his three-point shooting back to previous levels.

But the upside on the defensive end of the court and the cost it took to acquire Dort make this the best move of the offseason. I also think that Nembhard, assuming he is still on the roster by the time training camp rolls around, could be a useful depth piece for the Hawks at point guard after he flashed during the season for Dallas.

But right now, there are not going to be many defensive trios that are going to be better than Dort, Daniels, and Nickeil Alexander-Walker. That trio is going to make life very difficult for whoever the Hawks are playing that night.

But one thing that was clearly missing from the Hawks roster when they faced the Knicks in the first round of the NBA playoffs was physicality and toughness, players who play with an edge and others feed off his energy. That is not saying that the Hawks don't have tough players, but they did not have anyone that could set the tone and the Knicks had plenty.

That changes with Dort in town. There are not many, if any, more physical players in the NBA on the defensive end than Dort. He can scale up and guard bigger players and can give Daniels a night off from having to guard the other teams best player, which Atlanta could not always do, even though NAW is a very skilled perimeter defender and disruptor.

While the Hawks like Dort and may even extend him at some point, it should be noted that he is an expiring contract at $17 million and combined with other expiring salaries on the Hawks roster, Dort could even be used in an in-season trade should the right star become available. That is not likely, but worth mentioning.

I think if Dort can get back to hitting above 35% from three, he is going to be a very impactful player for the Hawks. At the very least, he adds an element of toughness, physicality, and tenacity that Atlanta did not have, and for the cost of two second-round picks, that is worth it.

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