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With the Zaccharie Risacher era meeting an early end in the A, one has to wonder - why did things go south for Zacch as quickly as they did?
Risacher's rookie deal had just reached its halfway point at the time of his trade to Dallas - it's rare to see young players traded in the midst of their first contracts, especially first overall picks.
A closer look reveals the painful truth - Risacher was picked with an entirely different system in mind: a system forged in a bygone era by an ex-GM.
The Trae Young engine was Landry Fields' dream - not Onsi Saleh's
Onsi Saleh inherited the Trae Young system from Atlanta's former GM, Landry Fields. Fields was a firm believer in Trae Young's ability to run a successful heliocentric offense - or, at least, a co-heliocentric system with Dejounte Murray, for a time.
Saleh - along with savvy coach Quin Snyder - share a commonality: a prioritization for team-first basketball, rather than engine-first basketball.
Saleh quickly moved on from Young, seeing the writing on the wall that a Trae-led team wouldn't get the squad where it needed to go. Remember, Risacher was drafted by Fields, not Saleh. His selection was a double-down by the former GM that Young simply needed more 3&D wings, not additional creation talents.
As soon as Young was dealt, Risacher's writing was on the wall, but Saleh's theory had to be confirmed on the hardwood first.
Risacher's performance after the deal confirmed Saleh's biggest fear
Before the Trae Young deal immediately after the start of the new year, Risacher was finding success inside the arc (56.0%), but struggling to drain his long-range shots (33.3%).
While he was able to resuscitate his three-ball (38.4%) with a return to mean after the Young deal, Risacher's ability to generate consistent offense in the new Johnson-McCollum dominated system shriveled (50.0%).
The death knell for Risacher was ultimately how Quin Snyder managed his minutes towards the end of the year.
As Atlanta floundered in the East in late February, Snyder made one vital decision - he replaced Risacher in the starting lineup with Nickeil Alexander-Walker, forming the death lineup of McCollum-NAW-Daniels-Johnson-Okongwu, which dominated opponents the remainder of the year.
This was all the confirmation Saleh needed to move on from Risacher.
There's a strong possibility that Zacch is able to find his footing in Dallas, under a new system that sets him into a more comfortable, ancillary offensive role while prioritizing his defensive growth.
I wouldn't be shocked if the youngster proves the doubters wrong, but one thing's for certain - it wasn't going to happen in Atlanta.
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This article was originally published on soaringdownsouth.com as Hawks' not-so-subtle move foretold Risacher's exodus from Atlanta.
