The Atlanta Hawks just shipped out Zaccharie Risacher in a three-team deal. Risacher – who was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft – appeared in just 142 games across two seasons with the Hawks before they decided to dump him. It’s the first time since Markelle Fultz and the Philadelphia 76ers that a first pick spent two years or fewer with the team that drafted them.
Atlanta got back Lu Dort and Ryan Nembhard in the trade, but it was clear that they are done with Risacher. With Fultz, it was the injuries that got in the way of his success. He only played in 33 games in his two years with Philly. For Risacher, it was just the play. He wasn’t good enough. Not in the Hawks’ eyes.
Now, for the first time since Fultz and the 76ers, a first pick has been moved just two years after being selected.
Zaccharie Risacher, like Markelle Fultz, lasted just two years as a No. 1 pick
For the past two years, the Hawks have tried to give Risacher chances to thrive. Unfortunately, he just hasn’t played as well as you would want a first-overall pick to play.
Usually, players picked highly in the draft are given a long leash. But apparently, the Hawks didn’t feel as though Risacher deserved that leash. They were very quick to move on from him.
At the end of the day, they just didn’t feel as though Risacher fit what they were trying to do moving forward. So, in his place, they added an elite perimeter defender (Dort) and a quality young point guard (Nembhard).
The story with Fultz was a different one. Unlike Risacher, who was primarily traded because he just wasn’t good enough on the court, Fultz was traded largely because of his health.
Fultz wasn’t great when he got on the floor for the Sixers. He wasn’t efficient, and the jump shot, in particular, was nothing like what it was during his one year at Washington.
However, he also just dealt with a ton of injury problems. Again, he only played in 33 games during his first two years – his only two years – with the 76ers.
Philly traded Fultz to the Orlando Magic for Jonathan Simmons, a second-round pick, and a first-round pick (the first became Tyrese Maxey).
Still, although the 76ers managed to get a pick that became a great player in the deal, drafting Fultz was still a failure. It didn’t work out.
And for the first time since then, a first-overall pick lasted just two years with his team. This time around, it was Risacher.
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