Trade & FA 2025-26: Free Agency Starts 5pm CST/6pm EST

[Smitty]

Does Atlanta have to include Risacher with KP and Kennard to make the money work? Is that the only realistic way to make salaries work? Because Atlanta (per reports) does not want to include him in a KP trade.

No, the Hawks don't have to include Risacher with those two for a legal trade. They could add any one player like Wallace, Dante, Vit, Asa, Gueye, and it would be legal. However, this would put Atlanta in the tax (~3.3M over), and they'd also have to add another player to their roster to get to the minimum 14. Mavericks would have to waive two players.

Knowing that, I think it's safe to say that just because it's a legal trade, doesn't make it realistic.

The Hawks can't include CJ or Kispert with those two in an AD trade, and they aren't going to include Johnson, Naw, or Daniels. The only two remaining that make more than $3M are Risacher and Okongwu. Adding either of those two requires the Mavs send out at least one more player, as they can't take back more money in a trade. 

The Mavs could send up to $7,583,222 more in salary and keep the Hawks below the Tax Line, if Risacher is the 3rd player. 
The Mavs could send up to $9,385,502 more in salary and keep the Hawks below the Tax Line, if Okongwu is the 3rd player.