Players Cut by WNBA Teams | Page 2 | The Boneyard

Players Cut by WNBA Teams

wallman said:
Sparks will not have Lav back in time for first game if her team goes to the third game in Turkish finals. Reisengerova (spelling?) is not coming over and Dabovic has not been playing, could be injured. Vadeeva still needs a visa.
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Yea, I saw from one of the reporters that Julie reisen wasn’t playing over here, and I was wondering about dabovic because I’ve heard nothing lately about her, I forgot all about lavender lol, from what it looks like sparks have at best 2 available slots right?
 
CBus13 said:
Indiana waived Jeanette Pohlen-Mavunga (her sister-in-law is still active), Alexis Peterson, and Bashaara Graves today.
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Pohlen-Mavunga has played several years, but Peterson played only 1 year. Her 'Cuse teammate Sykes caught on much better.
 
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Scoop said:
Speaking of players being "cut" each year, I did some research and looked at the WNBA draft class of 2013. This class included notables Brittany Griner, Elena Delle Donne and Skylar Diggins. That was 5 seasons ago. Of the 36 players that were drafted, only 13 are still active.
1st round = 9 still active
2nd rd = 3
3rd rd = 1

With the influx of new talent coming into the league each year, rosters are turning over faster than ever.
As of today 5/15/18 - 2 first round players from last year's draft are no longer active. Evelyn Akhator (3rd over all by Dallas) and Tori Jankoska (9th over all by Chicago).
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The WNBA salary structure seems to be rather seniority based. The teams will cut a borderline $75-$80K player who has been around 4-5 years in favor of a $45K rookie.
 
MilfordHusky said:
Makes KML look like a great selection at #3. BTW, KML just signed a contract extension in Seattle.
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Comparatively, yes, but KML has been pretty underwhelming for a #3 pick. Both 2015 and 2017 had weak draft classes. I think KML needs to make big strides or she’ll have a hard time keeping her roster spot next year.
 
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bballnut90 said:
Comparatively, yes, but KML has been pretty underwhelming for a #3 pick. Both 2015 and 2017 had weak draft classes. I think KML needs to make big strides or she’ll have a hard time keeping her roster spot next year.
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I think Kaleena has done at least as well as AZB, who went #2. I agree that it was a weak year. I hope--and think--that Kaleena can step up her game with the new coach. She just signed a new contract.
 
Faris, Pohlen-Mavunga, Hightower, Westbeld, Graves. Lots of additions to the not-a-good-player list.
 
Bigboote said:
I'm still a little confused by Plaisance being on the roster. She tore her ACL in October. I really like her game, but I can't imagine she'll be contributing an awful lot7-8 months out from reconstructive surgery.

Lewis looks like she had a good season overseas.
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It's on the low end but people can come back from ACLs as soon as 6 months nowadays.
 
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bballnut90 said:
Comparatively, yes, but KML has been pretty underwhelming for a #3 pick. Both 2015 and 2017 had weak draft classes. I think KML needs to make big strides or she’ll have a hard time keeping her roster spot next year.
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Akhator does look like a wasted pick, but if they wanted a post player, the pickings were slim. Brionna Jones & Nia Coffey could improve, but both had unremarkable rookie seasons. The big miss of the draft was Brittney Sykes, who fell to 7th. Buy the Wings drafted ROY Grey at #4, so it's not like they completely flubbed.
 
Shades said:
Maybe if they’re Adrian Peterson.
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The pro wrestler Seth Rollins tore his ACL, MCL, and medial meniscus on 11/4/2015 and returned to the ring on 5/22/16. A bit different since it's not a sport and he doesn't have to worry about his on-court performance suffering as he gets back to 100%. But still, it happens.

Whether it's good idea to come back that quickly is another question entirely - Are NFL Athletes Playing a Dangerous Game with Too-Fast ACL Returns?
 
Bigboote said:
I'm still a little confused by Plaisance being on the roster. She tore her ACL in October. I really like her game, but I can't imagine she'll be contributing an awful lot 7-8 months out from reconstructive surgery.
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It’s confusing to me too. Courtney Paris was hurt a lot last season and Plaisance stepped up in her place. So they like her. They let Paris walk, so I guess they felt they needed to secure Plaisance with a mult-year deal. Hopefully they got her for cheap since I dunno how much she’s going to contribute this year and she takes up a roster spot. Usually you don’t want to push a player to return too quickly from an ACL.
 
MilfordHusky said:
I think Kaleena has done at least as well as AZB, who went #2. I agree that it was a weak year. I hope--and think--that Kaleena can step up her game with the new coach. She just signed a new contract.
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She's done better than AZB, but I don't think that's saying much of anything. We'll see how KML does this year, I wouldn't be surprised if she is improved.
 
Bigboote said:
I'm still a little confused by Plaisance being on the roster. She tore her ACL in October. I really like her game, but I can't imagine she'll be contributing an awful lot7-8 months out from reconstructive surgery..
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Shades said:
It’s confusing to me too. Courtney Paris was hurt a lot last season and Plaisance stepped up in her place. So they like her. They let Paris walk, so I guess they felt they needed to secure Plaisance with a mult-year deal. Hopefully they got her for cheap since I dunno how much she’s going to contribute this year and she takes up a roster spot. Usually you don’t want to push a player to return too quickly from an ACL.
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Actually, it is not all that confusing.

January 15, 2018
WNBA free agency begins. Teams can start to negotiate contracts with free agents, though no deals can be signed until February 1, 2018.

January 17, 2018
Liz Cambage announces her return to Dallas and the WNBA (as expected, since Erin Phillips is now in the front office).
Cambage set for WNBA return

February 2, 2018
Courtney Paris signs a free agent deal with Seattle
Storm signs free agent center Courtney Paris

February 2, 2018
Theresa Plaisance, a restricted free agent, signs a deal with Dallas.
Dallas Wings re-sign restricted free agent forward Theresa Plaisance

It is worth noting that Plaisance averaged 7.7 ppg in 2017, which is what Paris averaged in 2016 (her last full healthy season). But it is also important to note that Plaisance brings a different element than Paris - three-point shooting. Having her there opens up the offense so much more, as Dallas has been relying on outside shooting from all five positions (notice Glory Johnson's improvement in her outside and three-point shooting). In a way, Dallas is mimicking certain elements from the Paul Westhead/Corey Gaines eras in Phoenix, when Penny Taylor and Tangela Smith were the frontcourt players who could step outside the paint, to the mid-range and to beyond the arc).

And with Cambage back (who also has some range on her shot, though she shows it more in Australia than she did in the W).

Plaisance was a restricted free agent, so a decision had to be made. In addition, under the salary cap, Paris was more expensive, given her status as a veteran. And while Johnson/Plaisance can play with Cambage, Paris and Cambage cannot play together.
 
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I'm not confused by the Wings keeping Plaisance, but by them keeping her on the active roster. Is there a reason (I don't know the rules) that they can't keep her on the suspended list, which is what most teams do with injured players?

TIA.
 
Dillon77 said:
Ooops. Couple hours later and the axe fell on Kat Westbeld and Brooke McCarty in Los Angeles. Kat should hop a plane back to South Bend and be able to join graduation ceremonies this weekend. If she wants to try to pursue a pro career and look for an overseas opportunity, this extended tryout could help.

No news is good news for Karlie Samuelson and the Sparks.
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I expect to see many of the players that were among the final cuts to resurface overseas like Natalie Butler will. They have the talent, there was just not enough room for them THIS year in the W. Roster spots are at a premium this season.
Because there is so much talent being cut, it was suggested that perhaps the league will expand and add a team to the league. Just a thought.
 
Bigboote said:
I'm not confused by the Wings keeping Plaisance, but by them keeping her on the active roster. Is there a reason (I don't know the rules) that they can't keep her on the suspended list, which is what most teams do with injured players?
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She was injured playing overseas, so they had no obligation to take care of her. What I would have done is sign her when she's ready to play and then cut a current player at that time. But I guess they were worried somebody else would sign her even though she was injured.... or else they're just taking care of her. That sort of thing can make a player loyal.
 
Bigboote said:
I'm not confused by the Wings keeping Plaisance, but by them keeping her on the active roster. Is there a reason (I don't know the rules) that they can't keep her on the suspended list, which is what most teams do with injured players?
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Shades said:
She was injured playing overseas, so they had no obligation to take care of her. What I would have done is sign her when she's ready to play and then cut a current player at that time. But I guess they were worried somebody else would sign her even though she was injured.... or else they're just taking care of her. That sort of thing can make a player loyal.
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Plaisance was a restricted free agent, so if Dallas did not sign her, another team would. Then Dallas would either have to match the offer or let her walk (without getting anything in return).
 
Scoop said:
I expect to see many of the players that were among the final cuts to resurface overseas like Natalie Butler will. They have the talent, there was just not enough room for them THIS year in the W. Roster spots are at a premium this season.
Because there is so much talent being cut, it was suggested that perhaps the league will expand and add a team to the league. Just a thought.
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Butler just isn’t a WNBA caliber player. Doesn’t have the skills or athleticism to compete with quality players her size. That’s the issue. On top of that, next year will be tougher when players like Brown, McCowan, Turner, Shepard, Gustafson, etc. enter the league and are all far better players than Butler. Plus current rookies like Wilson, Russell, Billings, Stevens, Vadeeva, Gulich, and Mavunga will all have a leg up on Butler since most will play a full season in the W to learn the ropes and make the transition. It’s pretty rare that we see rookies get cut and make rosters in later years.
 
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