The Eastern Conference has been fairly wide open this season, thanks in large part to Achilles tears suffered during the 2025 playoffs by East All-Stars Damian Lillard (now with the Portland Trail Blazers), Jayson Tatum and Tyrese Haliburton. The playing field has been somewhat leveled, creating relative parity beyond the two top-tier squads of the conference.
While the 24-8 Detroit Pistons and the 22-9 New York Knicks have separated themselves from the rest of the pack, the Nos. 3 through 10 seeds are separated by just five games.
One of the clubs that had been looking to pounce on the East this season, the Atlanta Hawks, finds itself in absolute freefall. The 15-18 Atlanta Hawks are currently struggling through the league’s second-worst active losing streak, having dropped their last six straight as of Monday.
Atlanta is apparently amenable to moving off the contract of four-time All-Star point guard Trae Young, thanks in no small part to the team looking to prioritize building around emerging forward Jalen Johnson.
But Young, a defensive sieve who can be a bit of a ball hog, isn’t the only Hawks starter who might be on his way out, writes Marc Stein of The Stein Line.
Small forward Zaccharie Risacher, the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, could be on the move, too.
More news: Three-Time Former Bulls Champ Horace Grant Takes Firm Stance on Rooting for NBA Nephew
"It is also increasingly believed that Atlanta is willing to surrender Zaccharie Risacher in the proverbial right scenario, since the No. 1 overall pick in the draft just 18 months ago has not developed as the Hawks would have hoped to this point. Yet even if the Hawks are prepared to package Risacher with the expiring contracts held by Kristaps Porziņģis and Luke Kennard for [Dallas Mavericks All-Star big man Anthony] Davis, it is unclear how much additional draft compensation they would be willing (or able) to add to the deal to convince the Mavericks to part with Davis in-season."
Risacher was the top pick in what was expected to be a fairly weak draft. The 6-foot-8 Frenchman did make the All-Rookie First Team last year, but he lost out on Rookie of the Year honors to San Antonio Spurs guard Stephon Castle.
Risacher’s Underwhelming Second Season
While Castle has leveled up in Year 2, and appears to be well on pace to make multiple All-Star teams, Risacher has essentially plateaued this year. He’s averaging 10.7 points on .455/.333/.675 shooting splits, 2.9 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.0 steals and 0.6 blocks a game.
The 20-year-old has plenty of athletic upside, but his stagnation as a scorer is a bit discouraging. Still, as a young recent lottery pick under team control for the foreseeable future, it may behoove the Hawks to retain Risacher unless they’re playing for someone with a bit more upside than an aging Davis.
For all the latest NBA news and rumors, head over toNewsweek Sports.
Newsweek