2025 WNBA Off-Season | Page 13 | The Boneyard

2025 WNBA Off-Season

GamecockFam said:
I think I would choose Miles over Flau'jae and Azzi. I also think that Latson will be a better pro than Kneepkens, as I think the spacing and speed of the game will favor her style of play. Without considering team needs, I think this would be the top 10 draft board:

1. Awa Fam
2. Olivia Miles
3. Flau'jae Johnson
4. Lauren Betts
5. Azzi Fudd
6. Ta'niya Latson
7. Gianna Kneepkens
8. Kiki Rice
9. Madina Okot
10. Janiah Barker

Dark Horses to move up the board (with a good second half to their seasons): Gabriela Jaques, Yarden Garzon, Laila Phelia, Raven Johnson, Cotie McMahon
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I think this list is spot on for what I would pick.

I think a lot of people are sleeping on Flaujae by putting her at 5th or 6th. Several things to note about her:
-minimal (if any) injury history
-probably the best athlete in the draft
-her game has steadily improved every year in college
-she probably has the biggest slate of any college athlete between basketball, music and NIL, and she's handled it all flawlessly

I also agree about Olivia Miles. I think she has the tools to be an All Star PG in the league with her ability to pass and create her own shot. Historically PG play has left a lot to desire in the W but we're getting an influx of top tier ones between Clark, Paige and Miles.

I'll also add in Rori Harmon for a late 1st or early 2nd round pick. She's undersized but an elite defender and offensively reminds me a lot of Sue Bird (but without a 3pt shot). She's always looking to get others involved but is capable of stepping up in big moments and has a killer pull up jumper. Her assist/TO ratio is always off the charts and she usually thrives against the best teams.
 
bballnut90 said:
I think this list is spot on for what I would pick.

I think a lot of people are sleeping on Flaujae by putting her at 5th or 6th. Several things to note about her:
-minimal (if any) injury history
-probably the best athlete in the draft
-her game has steadily improved every year in college
-she probably has the biggest slate of any college athlete between basketball, music and NIL, and she's handled it all flawlessly

I also agree about Olivia Miles. I think she has the tools to be an All Star PG in the league with her ability to pass and create her own shot. Historically PG play has left a lot to desire in the W but we're getting an influx of top tier ones between Clark, Paige and Miles.

I'll also add in Rori Harmon for a late 1st or early 2nd round pick. She's undersized but an elite defender and offensively reminds me a lot of Sue Bird (but without a 3pt shot). She's always looking to get others involved but is capable of stepping up in big moments and has a killer pull up jumper. Her assist/TO ratio is always off the charts and she usually thrives against the best teams.
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Agree on Harmon. Reminds me of Jordin Canada, undersized with a streaky offensive game but good to great in all other areas. I think Harmon can be a bit more than that too.

There are some players I just trust will overcome their size. I mean, Hannah Hidalgo has a deeper paint bag and better finishes around the rim than some all-conference forwards. It was really on display in the USC-ND game last year against Kiki Iriafen.
 
GamecockFam said:
I think I would choose Miles over Flau'jae and Azzi. I also think that Latson will be a better pro than Kneepkens, as I think the spacing and speed of the game will favor her style of play. Without considering team needs, I think this would be the top 10 draft board:

1. Awa Fam
2. Olivia Miles
3. Flau'jae Johnson
4. Lauren Betts
5. Azzi Fudd
6. Ta'niya Latson
7. Gianna Kneepkens
8. Kiki Rice
9. Madina Okot
10. Janiah Barker

Dark Horses to move up the board (with a good second half to their seasons): Gabriela Jaques, Yarden Garzon, Laila Phelia, Raven Johnson, Cotie
Expand ...
 
I'm not a Johnson fan. Fortunately, she can start to impress me with a monster SEC schedule. I'll be watching her.
 
TerpWomenFan said:
Jaquez on the other hand.
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Yeah, I think she bumped out Barker in my rankings with her performance today. She looks WNBA ready.

I was having mixed emotions about Barker in this game. For every positive there was an equally boneheaded negative that was all magnified by her bad attitude at the end of the game. No thank you! She seems like a good second round bet but after that interaction with Coach Close I wouldn't take her in the first round.
 
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I've always liked Jaquez, would pick her in the second half of the first round. I think Betts is good, but don't think she has a high ceiling. I feel like she's actually regressed this season, although the season is young and I've only seen her 2-3 times, one being last night. The announcers yesterday were talking up her speed, how Coach Close said she consistently won sprints. That certainly didn't show in the game, where she was lumbering up and down the court in the second quarter after missing much of the first. If she really is fast, then either she's out of shape or she doesn't put forth all that much effort getting up and down the court.
 
cancontent said:
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Glad that there is some level of discussion going on between the sides. They both understand the timing of everything. It just sucks that these expansion teams are held up because usually in the first or second week of December, there is the expansion draft and free agency. As long as there is no work stoppage, that is a good sign.
 
Spoilers for those that play Connections (NY Times game):

I loved the WNBA reference! It feels great that the W is entering general cultural spaces such as random trivia games in the NY Times! "Wing" was a connection to Dallas sports teams in today's Connection.
 
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GamecockFam said:
You Canadians better one up the Valks with the home atmosphere -- I have high expectations!!! 😜
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nervous k&p GIF by myLAB Box


No pressure at all. 😉
 
"The WNBA's proposal is a logistical nightmare, not only for other leagues, but for itself"

Consequences of new WNBA CBA offer: March training camp, end of housing benefits - CBS Sports https://share.google/xKlu8j7ABr34Sv2is

"It seems obvious that a primary reason the WNBA is raising the possibility of starting training camp in mid-March is to disrupt other leagues, ...."
 
azfan said:
"The WNBA's proposal is a logistical nightmare, not only for other leagues, but for itself"

Consequences of new WNBA CBA offer: March training camp, end of housing benefits - CBS Sports https://share.google/xKlu8j7ABr34Sv2is

"It seems obvious that a primary reason the WNBA is raising the possibility of starting training camp in mid-March is to disrupt other leagues, ...."
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I thought Sue and Megan made some good points in the latest episode of A Touch More. There is definitely some gray area where the players/league could get creative with their requests instead of the all or nothing changes:

I think a majority of their CBA remarks come from around the 10 through 40 minutes marks
 
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azfan said:
"The WNBA's proposal is a logistical nightmare, not only for other leagues, but for itself"

Consequences of new WNBA CBA offer: March training camp, end of housing benefits - CBS Sports https://share.google/xKlu8j7ABr34Sv2is

"It seems obvious that a primary reason the WNBA is raising the possibility of starting training camp in mid-March is to disrupt other leagues, ...."
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Which is insane given the overall quick turnaround for rookies, the possible schedule flow, and the threat to the other leagues and players being on those teams overseas. Not a good look for the W.
 
JellyBean said:
Which is insane given the overall quick turnaround for rookies, the possible schedule flow, and the threat to the other leagues and players being on those teams overseas. Not a good look for the W.
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My thoughts exactly. The fact that very wealthy people are now willing to pony up $250 million for a franchise tends to undercut in my view the financial arguments of the NBA ownership, Adam Silver, and the current set of owners. In this game of chicken I'm wondering if this ownership group is willing to risk significant damage to the brand.
 
JellyBean said:
This is awesome! Congrats. Love to see great news like this. Now I just hope that the players and the League can find common ground and reach an agreement.
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What stands out to me is that the costs for season tickets weren't cheap. There were some who thought the team was being a tad greedy. I take the fact that people weren't able to get season tickets to be a good sign.
 
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cancontent said:
What stands out to me is that the costs for season tickets weren't cheap. The were some who thought the team was being a tad greedy. I take the fact that people weren't able to get season tickets to be a good sign.
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One of many indications that there is significant increase in demand for women's basketball. It makes the game of chicken currently underway befuddling to me. WNBA ownership with its heavy NBA orientation knows what's happened to the value of franchises with revenue sharing in the NBA I think that that would be enough along with the demand factor you pointed out as well as the increasing initial investment required for expansion for owners and Adam Silver to move forward with revenue sharing a la. NBA
 
azfan said:
My thoughts exactly. The fact that very wealthy people are now willing to pony up $250 million for a franchise tends to undercut in my view the financial arguments of the NBA ownership, Adam Silver, and the current set of owners. In this game of chicken I'm wondering if this ownership group is willing to risk significant damage to the brand.
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Agree. The context below arguably makes it worse.

The context is that the WNBA’s owners are not all the same and the differences are magnified by the (whether incontrovertible or not) practice that revenue is shared and expenses are paid by the WNBA teams (not the NBA nor the third party owners);
  • There are owners like the Tsai’s whose objective is to build $1B team valuations and the Aces’ owner who is on record to be on the side of players; they both have been fined by the WNBA for excessive spending;
  • There are other owners who are sensitive to yearly expenses (hard salary caps) and these owners are well-represented in the CBA talks.
So all owners are benefitting from this small owner filter on the CBA talks.

The players are aware of the type of WNBA ownership context of the CBA talks.
 
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JellyBean said:
Which is insane given the overall quick turnaround for rookies, the possible schedule flow, and the threat to the other leagues and players being on those teams overseas. Not a good look for the W.
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Akin to poison pill signaling on the limits of the WNBA’s counteroffers.
 
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