But the key elements are obvious Ms.'s Jefferson and McBride. What does one do with that #1 and 5 picks?
Assuming no players (DeShields, Greenwell, Mitchell, Brown, Russell, etc.), leave early, here are my thoughts...
San Antonio needs offense. The team only averaged 72.0 ppg last year (in part due to McBride's injury, but also because of a lack of offensively talented players). Not only was SAS' scoring last in the WNBA, it was by a mile...the 11th place team in offense, Indiana, scored 80.5 ppg. Coupled with that, San Antonio was 10th in the league in assists last year. And SAS was also near the bottom in FG% and 3ptFG%
The team needs:
1) a guard/wing who can create her own shot, but also be a secondary distributor and also defend;
2) a post presence who can score, defend, and be physical on the glass;
3) time to develop its core going forward (Jefferson, McBride, Hamby); and
4) depth.
1) For the guard/wing position, I am going with
Baylor's Alexis Jones. First, she is a combo guard who can be a primary playmaker at an elite level. Second, she knows the perfect balance of scoring and distributing - this year, she is averaging 15.8 ppg and 4.93 apg, while shooting 43.2 percent from the floor and 45.7 percent from three (and making nearly 3 three-point shots per game). Her A/TO is over 2:1. In addition, she is an elite athlete and very good defender.
Also, Jones proved at Duke that she can be a secondary playmaker while playing next to a great point guard/distributor, like she did with Chelsea Gray. She will have that in Moriah Jefferson in San Antonio.
This allows McBride to move to the three. She is a tad undersized for the position at 5-11, but it will benefit her game tremendously. Having to be a #1 or #2 option in San Antonio, without much help, proved difficult last year for her (pre-injury), in terms of constantly having the focus of the opposition's best defender. But having Jefferson/A. Jones/McBride together means there is offensive firepower from all over the floor. Having another perimeter threat will definitely balance out the offense and help her get more open looks, instead of having to create as much as she did.
2) For the post presence, I am going with
Maryland's Brionna Jones. First, she is incredibly efficient offensively, averaging 19.4 points on 69.2 percent shooting. She is also shooting over 73 percent from the line, which is quite good for a post player. And she has only turned the ball over 25 times (22 games) all season.
Since Maryland does not play the toughest schedule, I looked at her games against ranked opponents the past two years. Her numbers are remarkable...and UConn fans know how tough she is from last year, putting up 24 points (12-14 shooting) and 7 rebounds against a frontcourt that featured Stewart and Tuck.
And with a lineup of Jefferson, McBride, and (hopefully) A. Jones, she would be the perfect complement because she is not only incredibly efficient offensively and can own the glass defensively, she does not need the ball in her hands to have an impact.
At 6-3, she might be a tad undersized, but she has proven that she can play with bigger players and still be a force.
So the lineup would look like this:
PG: Jefferson
SG/PG: A. Jones
G/W: McBride
F: Hamby
P: B. Jones
That leaves the bench as follows:
SG: Sydney Colson
G/F: Alex Montgomery
SF: Monique Currie
F: Haley Peters
C: Kayla Alexander (restricted free agent; assuming SA matches any offer)
C: Astou Ndour
Frankly, the team still needs a backup point guard (teams can carry 12 players), but this roster looks much better. The team will still be young, but all five starters will be under 25 years of age. This is a nice core to have to build for the future.
