01-09-2026, 02:03 PM
(01-09-2026, 01:52 PM)Winter Wrote: Thinking about it, it occurred to me last week that Atlanta saying Risacher was off limits might be Atlanta's way of trying to save the NO pick. When the trade finally gets made, they get to say "Dallas pulled Risacher away from us, but we get to save the NO pick." It makes the local media and their fan base feel like they negotiated something. The reality might be they were always willing to send Risacher to Dallas, but they needed to increase his value. What they really want, of course, is the NO pick and the appearance that they got a good deal.
No sense in doing the trade too quickly for either team. In this scenario, though, there has to be a pick.... but not the NO pick.
This is the kind of stupid stuff I think about waiting for a trade to happen.
Absolutely. That "ATL is unwilling to include Risacher" has been out there for a while, as has "ATL was initially unwilling to include Risacher, but now has reluctantly agreed to include him." (both paraphrases, not exact quotes). I think it's very important to remember that all this smoke comes from different camps...DAL, ATL and even Klutch.
Since Risacher has been in all plants from every direction, near as I can tell, I believe Dallas wants him and that ATL will include him. I also believe, based on tons of deep diving into Hawks media and forums, that Dallas IS asking for that Pelicans pick. Like most here, I don't think they'll get it, but they're asking for a lot, and I think they'll get a good package from ATL at the conclusion of all this. To your point, there's a lot of posturing going on by everyone involved, it seems to me. This is probably to help "sell" the deal everyone negotiating can see coming.
The sudden OO stuff might be a way of trying to distract DAL from that Pels pick, or it might just be a way of subtly telling their fan base why they feel AD is even needed in the first place. No idea.