2025 WNBA Off-Season

[Basingstoke]

This is just to amplify your point as I am not sure some people fully grasp the import of what you are saying.

Here is an interview with Alex Bazzell (Unrivaled president and Napheesa’s husband, a top basketball trainer (website)):

Women’s basketball revolutionized: How Unrivaled will change everything | SB Nation

Imagine someone else pays top players for WNBA offseason player development in the U.S. for two months overseen by some of the top player development professionals within a “one-roof” arrangement.

• And the players who join Unrivaled view the WNBA as their marquee job that they are preparing for — a job that currently doesn’t pay well;
• And the players who join Unrivaled benefit from “player narratives” (Turner Sports/ Unrivaled initiative) that make them more marketable (for endorsement income), which in turn garners women’s professional basketball more eyeballs in the WNBA’s offseason, which in turn the WNBA can benefit from.

It is thus bewildering that the WNBA/ NBA is hostile to any symbiotic rising tide that is not of their (pitiful) handiwork.

I believe that they're scared of the specter of the success of Unrivaled's business/compensation model. It's just something that they can't abide in the W.

 

[maccca3232]

There is a separate thread for Unrivaled but there is none for Athletes Unlimited (see Instagram here).

Quick update: Over half the roster spots (21 of the 40) have been announced (see website here). The list includes 19 who played in the WNBA this past season.

Note 1: There could be changes (e.g. Kaitlyn Chen subsequently signed overseas contract. Thread here).
Note 2: Players highlighted in red didn't play in WNBA past season.

Returning Players

1. Odyssey Sims
2. Jaylyn Sherrod
3. Theresa Plaisance
4. Kia Nurse
5. Isabelle Harrison
6. Sydney Colson
7. Alysha Clark
8. Lexie Brown

New Players (Last Offseason)

1. Natasha Mack (Turkey)
2. Brianna Turner (Australia)
3. Kiah Stokes (Turkey)
4. NaLyssa Smith (China)
5. Jacy Sheldon (Ohio State - Director of Player Development)
6. Te-Hina Paopao (College)
7. Aaliyah Nye (College)
8. Aneesah Morrow (College)
9. Deja Kelly (College)
10. Bree Hall (College)
11. Kaitlyn Chen (College)
12. Tina Charles (Turkey)
13. Ariel Atkins (Turkey)

 

[Basingstoke]

There is a separate thread for Unrivaled but there is none for Athletes Unlimited (see Instagram here).

Quick update: Over half the roster spots (21 of the 40) have been announced (see website here). The list includes 19 who played in the WNBA this past season.

Note 1: There could be changes (e.g. Kaitlyn Chen subsequently signed overseas contract. Thread here).
Note 2: Players highlighted in red didn't play in WNBA past season.

Returning Players

1. Odyssey Sims
2. Jaylyn Sherrod
3. Theresa Plaisance
4. Kia Nurse
5. Isabelle Harrison
6. Sydney Colson
7. Alysha Clark
8. Lexie Brown

New Players (Last Offseason)

1. Natasha Mack (Turkey)
2. Brianna Turner (Australia)
3. Kiah Stokes (Turkey)
4. NaLyssa Smith (China)
5. Jacy Sheldon (Ohio State - Director of Player Development)
6. Te-Hina Paopao (College)
7. Aaliyah Nye (College)
8. Aneesah Morrow (College)
9. Deja Kelly (College)
10. Bree Hall (College)
11. Kaitlyn Chen (College)
12. Tina Charles (Turkey)
13. Ariel Atkins (Turkey)

Speaking of Athletes Unlimited: does anyone know what us their salary range, number of games, length and dates of season and cities/venues.

 

[boontonbomber]

Who would be a good option for Seattle? It seems like a good job with good talent, good fan base, good ownership, good arena, good city.

Briann January. A great defensive player, and I expect the reason that Indiana played the kind of defense that kept them in most games. Though, I never heard much mention of that from White. Defense still wins the big games, and I think the present Seattle roster contains players who are already pretty good defenders individually( one, of course, whom we're quite familiar with). But team defense has got to be taught. Briann did play there one season.

 

[Dillon77]

All power to Coach Becky Hammon and the Las Vegas Aces players for going from .500 to a four-game sweep of the WNBA championship. Now, it's time to see what President Nikki Vargas and the Aces front office can do to bring back enough of the core players to make a try for four championships in five years. Of the Ace's 11 players, only rookie Aaliyah Nye and Cheyenne Parker-Tyus are set to return. The others:

• Restricted Free Agents: Kiersten Bell, NaLyssa Smith
• Unrestricted Free Agents: A'ja Wilson, Jackie Young, Chelsea Gray, Jewell Loyd, Kiah Stokes, Megan Gustafson, Dana Evans.

Now, a lot of teams are losing a number of players, but considering how important Wilson, Young, Gray and Loyd have been down the stretch, this will be really interesting. (And, Evans and Gustafson actually did enough right to get some regular minutes, which is saying something for Hammon.)

Stay tuned.

 

[TC22]

All power to Coach Becky Hammon and the Las Vegas Aces players for going from .500 to a four-game sweep of the WNBA championship. Now, it's time to see what President Nikki Vargas and the Aces front office can do to bring back enough of the core players to make a try for four championships in five years. Of the Ace's 11 players, only rookie Aaliyah Nye and Cheyenne Parker-Tyus are set to return. The others:

• Restricted Free Agents: Kiersten Bell, NaLyssa Smith
• Unrestricted Free Agents: A'ja Wilson, Jackie Young, Chelsea Gray, Jewell Loyd, Kiah Stokes, Megan Gustafson, Dana Evans.

Now, a lot of teams are losing a number of players, but considering how important Wilson, Young, Gray and Loyd have been down the stretch, this will be really interesting. (And, Evans and Gustafson actually did enough right to get some regular minutes, which is saying something for Hammon.)

Stay tuned.

A’ja won’t go anywhere and IDT Jackie or Chelsea will either. I’d pencil in Loyd too. Dana might have also found a home. Of the rest, i think there could be some upgrades.

 

[visitingcock]

A’ja won’t go anywhere and IDT Jackie or Chelsea will either. I’d pencil in Loyd too. Dana might have also found a home. Of the rest, i think there could be some upgrades.

I think the new CBA and higher cap could create incentives that could end up causing A’ja to leave if somebody wants to pay big bucks. Speculative I admit.

 

[oldhusky]

A’ja won’t go anywhere and IDT Jackie or Chelsea will either. I’d pencil in Loyd too. Dana might have also found a home. Of the rest, i think there could be some upgrades.

I agree with the likelihood of retaining the top 3, but think beyond that is almost impossible to predict. Loyd doesn't deserve anything close to a max contract but may still expect one. As for the rest of the roster as a desired destination and most of the league free agents, Vegas could improve on the rest of their rotation.

While the new numbers are highly in doubt, I suspect the strategies for true contenders will be the same. Max salaries for maybe the top 3 or so, relative bargains for the next 5 at between max and minimum, and then the remaining players at min or rookie contracts.

Free agency often works to the advantage of contenders and preferred destinations. Veteran players particularly near the end of their careers may ring chase by accepting a lessor role and pay for a likely champion. In essence the contenders get more for their free agent dollars than the teams near the bottom. At the other end bottom teams may have to overpay for the players they ultimately get. What really hurts a team's chances are a wasted max salary with a player not producing, or a player getting significantly more than the minimum that is not in the rotation.

With so many free agents for the next season, I expect there may be some combo deals, where some of the top free agents that would like to play with each other pitch themselves as a package, like Lebron James, Wade, and Bosh to Miami in the NBA. If I was dreaming as an Aces fan, maybe ex Uconn players and Unrivaled founders Napheesa Collier and Brianna Stewart sign near max deals with Vegas as a combo, Wilson and Young also at or near max, Gray resigning for significantly less and everybody else near minimum.

If they had a starting unit like that, I think they could fill the rest of the roster with players near the minimum that would be willing to take 20-30% less than their market value to chase a ring, and because of the off-court monetary possibilities with a high profile team. While that scenario is a big longshot, I fully expect some partnering among free agents that will immediately change the prospects of some team.