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Message: [QUOTE="bballnut90, post: 2366535, member: 2117"] Both teams just haven't drafted well and haven't been able to get marquee players needed. For San Antonio, they've always been in a loaded western conference and were good for a while but not great. From 2006-2014 they didn't get one draft pick in the top 4. They've had top 3 picks the last 3 years, but it hasn't gone as planned. McBride has been a good player for them but she has had injury issues, Jefferson was great as a rookie and I'm not sure what happened this year, and Plum struggled entering the pros and was by far the weakest 1st overall pick that's come through the league in the last 10 years. No offense to her...she's not a bad player, but she just doesn't compare to other #1 picks like Stewart, Loyd, Ogwumike x2, Griner, Maya, Candace and McCoughtry. They are very weak in the front court, but if they can land Aja Wilson next year, they should be a much better team in 2018 and could contend for a playoff spot (assuming McBride/Plum/Jefferson/Harrison continue to improve, etc.) For the Sky, this was the first year they didn't make the playoffs after making it 4 straight seasons. They've just had back luck keeping their stars and it caught up with them. They made the Finals just 3 years ago with Fowles and EDD but both players demanded trades and they were only able to get #2 pick (Coates), Dolson, and De Souza out of it...I'm sorry but that is rough outcome. They also drafted poorly this year opting for the injured Coates when they already had a strong center in Dolson. Most thought they'd take Allisha Gray who went on to be ROY. So in summary, it was really just one bad year and they've had bad luck with EDD/Fowles. As far as the Lynx, they were miserable from 2005-2009 but they were a playoff team if Augustus wasn't injured the first chunk of the season. Luckily for them, they were the last team out of the playoffs in 2010 and lost the tiebreaker to the Sparks and entered the lottery where they were extremely fortunate to nab the #1 pick and draft Maya. Amazing that if the Sparks had lost the tie breaker, they in theory would've had the #1 pick and it would've been Candace and Maya on the same team. But anyway, back on track...Minnesota was already a playoff caliber team and they were able to add in a marquee #1 pick in Maya and with that, they were instantly the favorite. They won a couple of titles, and then they got a real gift when Fowles demanded that she be traded only to Minnesota. They very easily could've missed out on Maya and Fowles, but both fell into their lap. Perhaps almost as important, Whalen was a hometown hero and Minnesota is where she always wanted to end up so she hasn't ever considered leaving, and Augustus/Brunson have stayed with Minnesota too, so right there are 5 immensely talented core players who have stuck together. You have to give props to the players and front office for keeping chemistry strong and egos in check. I think Phoenix could've had similar dominance of a dynasty had Pondexter stayed. With her they won 2 titles in four years, and after she left, they've been a mediocre franchise ever since besides their 2014 title. Detroit could've continued their dynasty too if they didn't relocate and had kept Laimbeer as coach. Once he quit it was downhill, and after they relocated it was disastrous. If they built the Shock around Nolan and had Ford stayed healthy, I think they could've won another title or two. [/QUOTE]

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