The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Fried earns another ‘Maddux’
His shutout of the Marlins was notably quick and efficient. Team probably needs to rely on trades for upgrades.
Max Fried has a long way to go to out-Maddux Maddux.
However, Fried got a step closer to Hall of Fame pitcher Greg Maddux with his shutout of the Marlins on Tuesday night. Fried needed only 92 pitches — and less than two hours — for the 5-0 win. A shutout with fewer than 100 pitches has become known as a “Maddux.”
Maddux did it 11 times in his career as a Brave since pitch tracking began in 1988. Tom Glavine did it five times.
Fried has four to his credit now, with one of them done in a rain-shortened game.
Fried, who has struggled early this season despite a 2-0 record, had not retired more than three consecutive batters this season until his latest masterpiece.
Braves starter Max Fried made short work of the Marlins on Tuesday, needing only 92 pitches and less than two hours for his 5-0 shutout victory.
With the Hawks’ season in the books, the front office turns its attention to making roster improvements.
The first stop is June’s NBA draft, where the Hawks likely will have the 10th overall pick. Beginning this year, the league has split the draft into two days, and as it stands, the Hawks don’t have a second-round pick, having traded it to Portland.
The Hawks finished the regular season 36-46 before losing to the Bulls in the play-in tournament. The NBA released its tiebreaker results Monday, which made the draft order a little clearer. The teams with the three worst records (Detroit, Washington and Charlotte) each have a 14% chance at the top overall pick. The draft lottery is May 12.
As of now, the Hawks pick 10th and have a 13.9% chance to move into the top four. They hold just a 3% chance of landing the first overall pick.
The Hawks have not had the first overall pick since 1975, when they selected David Thompson, who instead signed with the ABA’s Denver Nuggets. They have had 10 top-10 picks this century; the most recent was in 2020, when they drafted Onyeka Okongwu sixth. There’s also the possibility of the Hawks making a deal that would move them up in the draft.
This year’s draft class does not have the buzz and “star power” that next year’s does, most scouts and draft analysts have said.
Last Friday, the Hawks held their end-of-season availability with GM Landry Fields, coach Quin Snyder and 16 players who shared their perspective of how the season unfolded. Fields also shared the team’s desire to improve.
“Now we’re in this space where we’ll take a little bit of time, allow the season to kind of get to a more neutral state and we’ll begin our process, our methodology of how we’re going to continuously improve,” he said. “We know we’ve got work to do.”
The offseason will be a big one for the Hawks, who have failed to move beyond the first round of the playoffs since their Eastern Conference finals run in 2021; they had missed the playoffs in each of the preceding three seasons before that run to the conference finals. Part of the work is finding the best ways to maximize their current assets. There are questions regarding the way the roster is constructed, but some of those questions can be addressed with trades, including those that would bring draft picks.
After this season, the Hawks could be without a first-round pick until 2028. They do have a protected first-round pick in their pocket from the deal that sent Kevin Huerter to the Kings. The pick is top-12 protected next year and top-10 protected in 2026. If that pick is not resolved by the 2026 draft, it turns into a second-round selection.
Ending one of the more puzzling stays in the club’s history, Atlanta United has traded Derrick Etienne to Toronto, the team announced Wednesday.
Atlanta United will receive $200,000 in General Allocation Money and as much as $175,000 more if certain accomplishments are achieved.
The trade deadline closed Tuesday.
Atlanta United will be responsible for paying the majority of Etienne’s salary ($676,250 in October 2023) this season. Doing so will eliminate the club having to pay “dead money” next season.
Etienne signed with the club as a free agent before the 2023 season after coming off career
Atlanta United at Chicago, 8:30 p.m., AppleTV, 92.9 highs in goals (9) and assists (6) with Columbus in 2022.
Etienne wasn’t able to replicate that success with Atlanta United, never scoring and posting only two assists in 23 appearances. He fell far down the depth chart to the point that manager Gonzalo Pineda tried him as an attacking midfielder during the preseason and played him as a striker in a game this season.
After trading Etienne, the club moved Daniel Rios from a supplemental slot into a senior slot.