Weekend Reflections: Hawks get chance to draft Young’s replacement at No. 8

Trae Young was an inefficient scorer by the end of his tenure with the Hawks, but he never stopped being an elite playmaker. The Hawks didn’t have a true point guard at all in the rotation after they traded Young in January.

Now they have a chance to select one of the top point guards in this summer’s draft.

After the ping-pong balls were sorted during Sunday’s NBA draft lottery, the Hawks owned the No. 8 pick (via New Orleans). They weren’t lucky enough to move up for a chance to nab one of the top four prospects: wing AJ Dybantsa (BYU), shooting guard Darryn Peterson (Kansas), and forwards Cameron Boozer (Duke) and Caleb Wilson (North Carolina).

But this is considered a deep draft, and the second-tier group includes five freshman point guards. All of them are good-to-great playmakers, and each offers a different flavor with the rest of their game:

• Kingston Flemings (Houston) is an explosive athlete.
• Darius Acuff Jr. (Arkansas) has a great first step.
• Brayden Burries (Arizona) is a strong rim attacker.
• Keaton Wagler (Illinois) is crafty in the half court.
• Mikel Brown Jr. (Louisville) has a superb shooting stroke.

Forward Jalen Johnson and wing Dyson Daniels were the main offensive facilitators for the Hawks this season. They could stick with that arrangement while drafting a prospect who plays a position other than point guard.

Big wings are always in demand. Nate Ament (Tennessee) fits that bill. True centers seem to be coming back in style. Aday Mara (Michigan) might be the only one worth selecting in the first round (the Hawks also own the No. 23 pick via Cleveland).

If the Hawks decide they want a true point guard to replace Young, they’ll have plenty of good choices with the No. 8 pick in this draft.

Braves saw vintage Spencer Strider

The Braves not only took two of three games from the Dodgers to finish 6-3 on their trip and regain MLB’s best record (28-13), they also saw the dominant version of Braves right-hander Spencer Strider for the first time in a long time.

Strider’s fastball had life. The slider had bite. The Dodgers had no chance against him, losing 7-2 on Saturday at Dodger Stadium.

Strider held them scoreless over six innings with one single allowed, eight strikeouts and two walks. According to Baseball Reference, it’s the third career start for Strider with at least six innings pitched and no runs and one hit allowed. It last happened Aug. 18, 2023, against the Giants (seven innings, eight strikeouts).

Per Statcast tracking data, Strider’s average fastball velocity against the Dodgers was 96.4 mph. That’s not as high as it was during his great run from 2021-23, but it’s higher than in any of his 23 starts during 2025.

Strider’s mental approach was good, too, as reported by AJC beat writer Chad Bishop after the game:

“I’ve gotta disregard how I feel in a lot of ways. Putting up zeros is my job. So however I got to do it, however it looks, doesn’t really matter. I think sometimes it’s easy to get too focused on where things are trending and how things are feeling.”

Strider is always working on perfecting his movement and pitching mechanics. Maybe he can benefit from not thinking so much and focusing on getting batters out whatever it takes.

Bobby Cox was good at managing things that matter

I analyze games based on what I can see. I dig into the numbers for confirmation. The tangible things matter more than the intangibles.

But I’ve learned over the years things that can’t be measured also are important. I thought about that when I heard the news of Bobby Cox’s death on Saturday.

The Braves had a lot of good players during his 25 years as manager. But during the excellent BravesVision telecast on Saturday, several of those players said they wouldn’t have won so many games without Cox.

That’s because Cox was so good at managing things that matter. I don’t mean strategy, which has a negligible effect over 162 games. By all accounts, what made Cox a great manager was his skill at finding the right buttons to push for humans who are playing a cruel game.

That matters, even if there is no way to put a number on it.

Reporters caught up with Dodgers slugger Freddie Freeman before Saturday’s game. Freeman made his MLB debut with the Braves in 2010, Cox’s final season as manager.

“Not many people get to be managed at all by a Hall of Fame manager, and I got to have my first one in the big leagues be a Hall of Fame manager,” Freeman said. “And (he was) a manager who relentlessly had our backs.”

That was a recurring theme among the ex-Braves who shared their memories of Cox during the BravesVision telecast. All of them told stories about Cox sticking up for them, encouraging them and believing in them.

I know those things are important, even if their impact can’t be seen or measured.

Angel Reese secures win for Atlanta Dream in debut

It looked like Angel Reese had blown it in her first game with the Atlanta Dream. She got another chance and made the clutch play for a 91-90 victory at Minnesota on Saturday.

Reese grabbed an offensive rebound with the Dream trailing by a point in the final seconds. But she missed the wide-open follow shot at the rim. That’s the book on Reese: Great rebounder, subpar scorer.

Dream guard Jordin Canada collected Reese’s miss. Te-Hina Paopao made a go-ahead jumper with 12 seconds left. The Lynx would get two more chances to score.

Allisha Gray snuffed out the first one by helping from the corner and blocking Olivia Miles’ driving shot attempt. That led to a jump ball, which Minnesota won. Miles collected the loose ball and whipped a pass to Emese Hof under the basket.

Reese was out of position because she stepped up to cut off Miles’ drive when help wasn’t needed. It didn’t matter. Reese turned and swooped across the lane to block Hof’s shot at the buzzer.

Reese finished with a game-high 14 rebounds, including nine offensive boards, and three blocked shots. Opponent paint scoring was one of the few weak areas for the Dream during their historically good 2025 season.

That won’t be a problem now that Reese is here.

Three quick thoughts

1. I loved what Georgia coach Wes Johnson said after the Bulldogs clinched the SEC on Saturday: “It’s hard to do. It’s 10 weekends of just meat house grinding.” That’s why I value regular-season baseball titles more than postseason championships. You can’t luck your way into the former. The Bulldogs are the SEC’s best team for the first time since 2008.
2. Those two playoff victories by the Hawks over the Knicks are looking better. The Sixers couldn’t win a game against New York in the semifinals. The Knicks completed the sweep with a 144-114 victory in Philly on Sunday. Knicks fans took over Xfinity Mobile Arena, but I doubt that will inspire hot takes about Philly being a bad pro sports town.
3. After three consecutive victories in all competitions, Atlanta United squandered a late lead in a 2-1 loss to the LA Galaxy on Saturday. Things could get uglier for the Five Stripes, who play three away matches before the World Cup break. Captain Miguel Almirón missed his fourth consecutive league game, and manager Gerardo Martino said his Cup duty for Paraguay would be a factor in his availability.