2025 WNBA Off-Season | Page 5 | The Boneyard
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2025 WNBA Off-Season

As I said over in the other forum, I really hope Lasry and a bunch of other hedge fund owners see this as an opportunity to start a whole new league with players as co-op style partners. Do it right this time, the fan base is there, and the true fans will appreciate a game that's well-officiated and well run. Money will follow the players to a new league, no one cares who an individual team owner is or what streaming deal they have. And Englebert is a perfect example of why you don't have an accountant as a talking head, they're basically clueless.
 
As I said over in the other forum, I really hope Lasry and a bunch of other hedge fund owners see this as an opportunity to start a whole new league with players as co-op style partners. Do it right this time, the fan base is there, and the true fans will appreciate a game that's well-officiated and well run. Money will follow the players to a new league, no one cares who an individual team owner is or what streaming deal they have. And Englebert is a perfect example of why you don't have an accountant as a talking head, they're basically clueless.
No way the NBA is gonna let a competing league form.
 
Englebert's handling of the CT Sun has been awful: "You can't sell to the highest bidder, you can't keep the team in-market, and you have to accept 20% less that market value and sell it to the league." I'm surprised the other owners have not been in more of an uproar about that.
I think the tribe should be furious. There is about to be a lockout. And their $300M sale has effectively been blocked.
 
As I said over in the other forum, I really hope Lasry and a bunch of other hedge fund owners see this as an opportunity to start a whole new league with players as co-op style partners. Do it right this time, the fan base is there, and the true fans will appreciate a game that's well-officiated and well run. Money will follow the players to a new league, no one cares who an individual team owner is or what streaming deal they have. And Englebert is a perfect example of why you don't have an accountant as a talking head, they're basically clueless.
No other league will outshine the WNBA. The NBA will make sure of that regardless if Engelbert or Collier stick around . We have seen it done before ruthlessly .
 
I think the timing just should have been better , saying all these old things Cathy said seems as though Phee waited til mad day after her team got eliminated without a championship to say all things bad about Cathy without including the good things shes done for the growth of this league versus any other Prez since Val Ackerman . How this helps them get a big payday idk , but i hope the players do but not by attacking someone's character . Whether Cathy said those words verbatim or not why wait til now to bring it up ?
 
the message was impactful but coming from Collier ...ehhhh this proves the conflict of interest theory that was out there from day 1 . Comparing her husband to the WNBA business model & CEO is just obserd. 6 teams in 1 venue cannot and will not compare nor compete with the corporate juggernaut of the WNBA/NBA ever . One may think Collier has had this day and plan all along and compiled a story with her husband aka the CEO of Unrivaled .
 
Not to mention Collier hold a stake in a competitor league while negotiating the CBA of the WNBA in itself opens the ground for legal issues .
 
Not to mention Collier hold a stake in a competitor league while negotiating the CBA of the WNBA in itself opens the ground for legal issues .
The players can choose whoever they want to represent them. Her involvement with Unrivaled is not a secret. If the players were concerned that this creates a conflict of interest, they could’ve made someone else VP.

What exactly is the “legal issue” here?
 
The players can choose whoever they want to represent them. Her involvement with Unrivaled is not a secret. If the players were concerned that this creates a conflict of interest, they could’ve made someone else VP.

What exactly is the “legal issue” here?
she was elected before unrivaled became a thing.
 
The players can choose whoever they want to represent them. Her involvement with Unrivaled is not a secret. If the players were concerned that this creates a conflict of interest, they could’ve made someone else VP.

What exactly is the “legal issue” here?
Exactly, there is none. And there's no issue with starting a competing league, either. Any attempt to stop it other than outright buying a competing league out would be an immediate antitrust suit. I absolutely doubt anyone would seriously try it, but between Phee's comments generating so much positive feedback, and the handling of the Sun generating so much negative feedback, there are some eggshells that need walking on. Oh, and if you don't think a competing league could get going? Remember the ABA and Dr. J. A few folks with sacks o' dough and it's game on.
 
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The players can choose whoever they want to represent them. Her involvement with Unrivaled is not a secret. If the players were concerned that this creates a conflict of interest, they could’ve made someone else VP.

What exactly is the “legal issue” here?
Who's her husband again ?
 
I agree with collier's words im just afraid this is going to turn into an Unrivaled vs the WNBA/NBA thing and i dont see Collier's league or well her husbands league winning that battle. Sure lets pay the players 1 million dollar salaries BUT there's a clause you can't play in Unrivaled at all . Sincerely - Cathy's hardball ass face lol .
 
I agree with collier's words im just afraid this is going to turn into an Unrivaled vs the WNBA/NBA thing and i dont see Collier's league or well her husbands league winning that battle. Sure lets pay the players 1 million dollar salaries BUT there's a clause you can't play in Unrivaled at all . Sincerely - Cathy's hardball ass face lol .
Respectfully, I feel like you're the only one turning it into the W vs. Unrivaled. I haven't seen anyone in the media suggest this, and the players who have spoken up all seem to be pretty uniformly in support of Phee.
 
Respectfully, I feel like you're the only one turning it into the W vs. Unrivaled. I haven't seen anyone in the media suggest this, and the players who have spoken up all seem to be pretty uniformly in support of Phee.
If you think this then i will allow you to live there lol. Everyone knows whats going on here but turn a blind eye its not my head lol . No one is saying what she said was wrong at all , i just think the timing especially while trying to play hardball with a corporation who has the NBA's hand is just not smart. Yeah the top 36-48 players or however unrivaled allows will benefit from this chess move but the remaining 100 wnba players who dont get the invite to unrivaled will struggle while the top players play hard ball until they can cash out.
 
As a side note, the Unrivaled folks approached the WNBA during the development stage. The W wasn't interested.
Unrivaled cannot support the same load as the W. Until they can successfully foster 13-15 teams in separate cities and not just 1 venue their true revenue and value then becomes a threat to the W in my opinion .
 
she was elected before unrivaled became a thing.
I see . And so your argument is the shrinking violets of the WNBA became concerned about a conflict of interest but were too shy and scared to raise it as an issue? So instead they let someone they didn’t trust represent them.

Fair point. They are just girls.
 
Unrivaled cannot support the same load as the W. Until they can successfully foster 13-15 teams in separate cities and not just 1 venue their true revenue and value then becomes a threat to the W in my opinion .

Unrivaled isn't trying to be a threat to the WNBA and it was not started to compete with the WNBA, it was started so that the players could continue to make money in the offseason without having to go overseas. The players want to stay in the US, prepare for the WNBA season, and have fun and Unrivaled allows for that. It's essentially a different sport (3 on 3 vs. 5 on 5) and the season is set up so it has no direct conflict with WNBA scheduling.

I have not seen a single player say anything to disagree with Napheesa today. Instead, every single player statement has been in support. That tells me that the players (both those participating in Unrivaled and those who are not) are in agreement with her.

The only people who think Unrivaled is a bad thing for the WNBA are WNBA owners and league staff, because Unrivaled has shown what the standard SHOULD be for the WNBA in terms of a Player First mentality.
 
Respectfully, I feel like you're the only one turning it into the W vs. Unrivaled. I haven't seen anyone in the media suggest this, and the players who have spoken up all seem to be pretty uniformly in support of Phee.
One of the WNBA demands in the negotiations is that players don't play in Unrivaled and AU.
 
Who's her husband again ?
Is Wimbledon a competitor of the U.S. Open?

It is 5x5 from May to September/October vs 3x3 in January. They are not competitors in any meaningful sense.
  • The businesses only intersect with respect to common players;
  • The players work for them at non-inter-lapping times which voids any claims of divided attention/ loyalties;
  • It’s not a zero-sum playing field for both businesses on any other aspects of their businesses;
  • There are no trade secrets / proprietary interest that one business gains vs. the other by sharing players.
There could be no conflict of interest implicated when businesses involved are time-differentiated non-competitors.
 

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