The Atlanta Hawks just made themselves a more serious problem for the Toronto Raptors.
Atlanta landed Oklahoma City Thunder wing Lu Dort and Dallas Mavericks point guard Ryan Nembhard in a trade that also gives the Hawks another Canadian to plug into a roster already leaning into two-way toughness. For Raptors fans who also keep tabs on the Canadian national team, that part alone makes the Hawks worth watching a little closer next season.
Dort now joins Dyson Daniels, a two-time All-Defensive selection, giving Atlanta what looks like one of the league’s most rugged wing pairings. Add in fellow Canadian guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker and All-Star forward Jalen Johnson, and the Hawks suddenly have a core built to bother good teams on both ends.
That matters because Atlanta already showed real growth last season. The Hawks were 20-21 in the first half, then flipped things with a 26-15 finish to grab one of the East’s top six spots.
They ended up tied with Toronto, but the Raptors owned the tiebreaker and took the No. 5 seed while Atlanta settled for No. 6.
That draw sent the Hawks straight into the eventual champion New York Knicks, and Atlanta made that series harder than anyone else did. The Hawks were the only team to beat New York more than once in a playoff series, even if a disastrous Game 6 loss at home brought their season to a close in the first round.
Now, with Dort in the mix and chemistry continuing to build, Atlanta looks like another Eastern Conference team that can make life tougher for Toronto.
And that’s where the Raptors’ own situation comes back into focus. Toronto needs the Kawhi Leonard trade to go through, because the competition around them is not standing still. The Raptors were trying to put themselves in position to upgrade the roster with Leonard, and if he does not end up with Toronto, the gap only gets wider.
The problem is that the Raptors may not know until around the start of training camp whether Leonard’s current contract will be voided, which would force the trade to collapse. For now, Toronto is stuck waiting and hoping the deal survives.
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For the Raptors, the frustration is less about what they have done than what they are still waiting to learn. Kawhi Leonards future remains the key swing point in their own story, and until that gets resolved, Toronto is watching rivals around the East add talent, regain health and position themselves for another run. In a conference that already felt crowded, the path forward for the Raptors only gets harder if the teams around them keep moving first. [Read more 🡒]
Clippers Offseason Is Suddenly On Hold Because Of Kawhi Again
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What Lu Dorts Market Just Revealed About The Hawks Move
The Raptors search for a defensive-minded wing has been one of the quieter but more revealing themes of their offseason, and Lu Dorts market only sharpened that picture. Toronto was reportedly among the teams that checked in before he was moved, a sign that the front office is still looking for the kind of tough, versatile perimeter stopper it once chased so aggressively in its pursuit of Kawhi Leonard.
Dorts expiring contract made him an especially interesting fit, but also a complicated one for a team trying to keep its books clean. Adding that kind of money would have pushed Toronto over the first apron, a line it has been careful not to cross, which helps explain why the Raptors may have to keep scanning for alternatives such as Josh Green later in the offseason. [Read more 🡒]