Center Liz Cambage terminates deal with Los Angeles Sparks | The Boneyard

Center Liz Cambage terminates deal with Los Angeles Sparks

Which leaves Olivia Nelson-Ododa in a premium position to fill in for both Ogwumike sisters at the 4 and 5 spots. She needs to get more aggressive in rebounding. She leads the team in shooting percentage so if they start to feed her the basketball more often, she could become integral to the team. We know they like her future from what game announcers say they hear from coaches. Now she has a great opportunity to develop herself. As for Cambage, she was really lumbering up and down the court. this season. She may get picked up on a rest of the season contract from a playoff team, but I doubt if she will start for anybody at this point in the season. She is just slow on offense and defense because she is out of shape.
 
Carnac said:
Center Liz Cambage is leaving the Los Angeles Sparks in her first season with the squad, the team announced Tuesday, describing it as a contract divorce Cambage elected.

www.espn.com

Center Cambage terminates deal with Sparks

Liz Cambage is leaving the Sparks in the middle of her first season with the squad.
www.espn.com www.espn.com
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Does the WNBA have any guaranteed contracts? If either party can just refuse to perform and walk away, my perception of it being very minor league is reinforced.
 
TRest said:
Does the WNBA have any guaranteed contracts? If either party can just refuse to perform and walk away, my perception of it being very minor league is reinforced.
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It is strange that this happens so much in the WNBA.
 
Are any of the contenders going to be at all interested in her? Is anybody going to be interested in her?
 
Notyetready said:
Which leaves Olivia Nelson-Ododa in a premium position to fill in for both Ogwumike sisters at the 4 and 5 spots. She needs to get more aggressive in rebounding. She leads the team in shooting percentage so if they start to feed her the basketball more often, she could become integral to the team. We know they like her future from what game announcers say they hear from coaches. Now she has a great opportunity to develop herself....
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I really hope this is an opportunity for Olivia, and that she launches herself at it.
 
nwhoopfan said:
Are any of the contenders going to be at all interested in her? Is anybody going to be interested in her?
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That's a great question. IIRC, she was run out of Team Australia after her comments and physical altercation with Team Nigeria. I can't find it anywhere, but I recall that even tho she officially "withdrew" from the Tokyo Olympics, in actuality, the entire Australian team said that if she played, they would not.

I did find this: there was "an alleged physical and verbal altercation with the Nigerian team during training, while she was also accused of breaking COVID-19 rules by leaving the hotel to head out in Vegas."

Reports say she will never be on Team Australia again (per the team captain Jenna O'Hea).

She's percolated around the league. Not sure if she's burned bridges or not, but she's never lasted long. Seems to be one of those situations of "where there's smoke, there's usually fire". Not sure if she's a bad teammate or what, but too many issues surrounding her wherever she goes.

Nneka, Chiney, and Lou are all playing well for LA. But aside from them, there aren't really any centers, or even forwards on LA who are producing. Big opportunity for Liv, as well as Jasmine Walker (6'3" forward formerly from Alabama) as well as maybe Rae Burrell.
 
TRest said:
Does the WNBA have any guaranteed contracts? If either party can just refuse to perform and walk away, my perception of it being very minor league is reinforced.
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Cambage did not break her contract, she was released from the contract by the team at her request, presumably. Why would any team want an unhappy player on their roster? She was never going to get resigned after this season, she lags the rest of the rest of the team up and down the court and fumbles too many chances to score. Any team in any sport has the right to release a player from a contract if that is what the player wants.
 
I wonder if Lauren Cox, who the Sparks cut during training camp, is available for a hardship contract for the remainder of the season...
 
Notyetready said:
Cambage did not break her contract, she was released from the contract by the team at her request, presumably. Why would any team want an unhappy player on their roster? She was never going to get resigned after this season, she lags the rest of the rest of the team up and down the court and fumbles too many chances to score. Any team in any sport has the right to release a player from a contract if that is what the player wants.
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In general, players cannot get released entirely to enter the market without the team getting compensation in some form, as the rights to the player should have some value. In the WNBA, it seems like the players who leave in this manner either don't need the money, and/or the teams are mainly interested in cutting payroll. Cambage (and Tina Charles) are both considered star players and likely starters for most teams, yet can just walk away. This doesn't happen in the major professional sports with the rare exception of the NFL, which does retain the ability to just cut people loose.
 
TRest said:
In general, players cannot get released entirely to enter the market without the team getting compensation in some form, as the rights to the player should have some value. In the WNBA, it seems like the players who leave in this manner either don't need the money, and/or the teams are mainly interested in cutting payroll. Cambage (and Tina Charles) are both considered star players and likely starters for most teams, yet can just walk away. This doesn't happen in the major professional sports with the rare exception of the NFL, which does retain the ability to just cut people loose.
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I'm no expert and it might not be exactly the same, but my impression from my daily watching of PTI is that there is some analogy to be made to players demanding to move on in the NBA. James Harden comes to mind. I do not follow the NBA, but I take the Cambage and Charles news as other examples of what - in the long ago - was considered the inmates running the asylum. As others have correctly pointed out, you are not going to get any notable production from a player that doesn't want to be there.

Yes, the salary cap in the W is a huge problem, and cutting payroll often a necessity to make other moves. It isn't conceptually that much different in other sports, except that the amount of money is smaller.

If you want to carp about comparing the league to others, I just read (again) today about the ban from taking charter air flights. The reasoning ("because they might get used to it") and the fact that it is for the life of the CBA is distressing. Becky Hammon is one who wants that to change as soon as practical (which might be 3 or more years from now). Her reasoning is that it is affecting the product on the floor, and making it less compelling for fans to see tired players compete.
 
I watched her play recently in Arlington against the Wings. Her attitude flaired up several times during the game and she was of course booed quite frequently due to that.
 
KnightBridgeAZ said:
Her reasoning is that it is affecting the product on the floor, and making it less compelling for fans to see tired players compete.
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Becky just needs someone like Larry Bird (although that type of competitor is few and very far between).

Back in the 80's the NBA flew commercial (league didn't make enough to justify charter), and only older stars flew 1st class.

Here Kevin McHale recounts a story about Larry's reaction to one particularly nasty winter trip.

 
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