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Message: [QUOTE="BRS24, post: 5148801, member: 197"] [URL unfurl="true"]https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6004695/2024/12/19/uconn-paige-bueckers-wnba-draft-leverage/[/URL] [INDENT][I]"Bueckers, however, is in a rare situation where she wields more leverage thanks to her marketability, NIL portfolio and college eligibility. (She can return for a sixth season at UConn because of COVID-19 eligibility rules.) If she decides against playing for the Wings — and the buzz around the league is that Dallas was not her preferred destination — she could exert whatever levers she can to get where she wants as soon as possible.[/I][/INDENT] [INDENT][/INDENT] [INDENT][I]Given the state of the lottery teams, Bueckers could return to college by foregoing her draft eligibility at the end of the NCAA season and putting off the WNBA until 2026. That unfortunately still leaves her at the mercy of the lottery, but [B]perhaps the threat of playing another season for UConn would motivate the Wings to take a trade demand seriously.[/B][/I][/INDENT] [INDENT][I][/I][/INDENT] [INDENT][I]Furthermore, it might behoove her financially to postpone the start of her WNBA career. By entering this season’s draft, she would lock herself into a four-year rookie-scale contract that averages $87,000 annually. However, the WNBA will enact a new collective bargaining agreement before the 2026 season, one that figures to increase player compensation.[/I][/INDENT] [INDENT][I]Trade demands are old hat for WNBA veterans, and stars usually win. Within the last 10 years, Kahleah Copper, Elena Delle Donne and Sylvia Fowles successfully negotiated their way to new teams. Fowles even sat out half a season while waiting for the right deal. Bueckers would hardly be noteworthy if she expressed a desire to play for a different team, even if the timing of her request would be unique."[/I][/INDENT] [/QUOTE]

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