East Notes: Hawks, Zaccharie Risacher, Celtics, Nets

Hawks

The Hawks have so far received a C-plus grade for their offseason, per Kevin Pelton of ESPN.

“Breaking up the Dejounte Murray–Trae Young pairing was the right call, but the final Murray deal wasn’t as constructive as initially thought. To avoid triggering a first-apron hard cap for the New Orleans Pelicans, Atlanta completed the deal July 6 and took back Cody Zeller via sign-and-trade,” Pelton wrote. “That prevented the Hawks from making injured forward Saddiq Bey a restricted free agent. Atlanta got nothing in return when Bey signed with the Washington Wizards.”

Much of it will depend on how the Hawks did in the draft — given that they had the top selection.

“If the Hawks are right that No. 1 pick Zaccharie Risacher was the best player in a draft without a consensus top choice, their offseason will look far better,” Pelton added. “It’s too early to say after an uneven NBA summer league debut for Risacher.”

• In case you missed it, the Hawks’ acquisition of former Suns forward David Roddy is now official. We have the full story here.

Celtics

The Celtics haven’t done much beyond keeping their roster together, but Pelton gave them a B-plus nonetheless. And why not? They are, after all, reigning champs.

“The defending champs are betting big on continuity,” Pelton wrote. “Boston has 15 of the 17 players from last season’s roster under contract, with rookies Baylor Scheierman and Anton Watson as the two newcomers. The Celtics also signed three players to long-term extensions, giving Jayson Tatum the supermax, guard Derrick White the most they could offer and Sam Hauser a four-year, $46 million deal.”

All of it makes sense.

“This doesn’t seem to be Boston overvaluing its own talent,” Pelton wrote. “White’s deal is a bargain, Tatum’s is a no-brainer and Hauser’s is fair value for a key rotation piece. As long as Celtics’ ownership — the biggest potential change — is willing to pay growing tax bills, it’s worth keeping this group together.”

• Team USA coach Steve Kerr said he fully intends to play Tatum next game (Wednesday, vs. South Sudan).

Nets

The Nets traded standout forward Mikal Bridges to the Knicks, but still received an A-minus from Pelton.

“The Nets read the market correctly in moving on from Bridges when they did, landing a bounty of draft picks from the New York Knicks along with no guaranteed salary beyond next season,” Pelton wrote. “In conjunction with Brooklyn getting 2025 swap rights and a 2026 first-round pick back from the Houston Rockets, the Nets are set up to be a key team in next year’s lottery and then have massive cap space in summer 2025. The 2024-25 campaign could be brutal on the court in Brooklyn, but unlike last season, there will be a reward for the potential suffering.”

• In case you missed it, the Nets have been linked to Cavaliers wing Isaac Okoro in trade rumors. We have the latest right here.