September WNBA thread

[Dillon77]

???

If this news had dropped last year or even halfway through this season, I might nod my head and "get it."
However, given the Wing's performance the second half of the year, I'm perplexed and now turn my head toward GM Greg Bibb as the reason Dallas seems to be in a cha-cha mode:

Per Coach J:

• I initially hated her "give me 5 minutes" stints because, IMO, it destroyed continuity. She adjusted that approach and did a smoother job of playing the hot hand.
• Coach J. was very much for the entire team sharing the ball.. It was a hard sell, given that Arike seemingly had carte blanche for years. BTW, this "let it rip" approach was not confined to Arike -- Satou Sabally was very much an ISO devotee.
• However, once she got Big T into the middle on a starting basis, the ball was being shared in the point and others -- Thornton -- started getting involved.
• When Arike and Sabally were out, I thought Coach J did a very good job of working with Allisha Gray and Marina Mabrey to balance their individual scoring talents along with the team approach. Plus, she got to insert Veronica Burton at point guard, which was a natural for her, given Coach J's preference for defense-first approach. Good balance
• There were/some major question marks regarding high-visibility draft choices languishing on the bench (Charli Collier,Tyasha Harris), but those might say more about whether those choices were merited.

Ultimately, this decision says as much to me about Bibb, who seems to have amassed a lot of parts that seemingly aren't quite meshing. Coach J was trying to incorporate some form of defense and ball sharing. Unless there's some behind-the-scenes squabbling going on we don't know about, it looks like the Wings were buying it. I was looking forward to Bella Alarie coming back and joining Big T to give some very solid lane play. The big question mark, ironically, was whether Arike could make her game mesh more with the team approach, as Gray and Mabrey were attempting.

No need now. Will be interesting to see if Bibb keeps his roster unchanged -- meaning he believes in his work -- or if he tweaks, recognizing not all the parts fit.

Meanwhile, let's see if Coach J arrives in Indianapolis for an interview with the Indiana Fever.

 

[WFFL]

Going 32-36 in 2 years that you agreed upon contractually speaks no volumes in being retained. Yeah she trended a little towards the end like 5 games but overall she was not good and this was a good move if not earlier.

 

[WFFL]

???

If this news had dropped last year or even halfway through this season, I might nod my head and "get it."
However, given the Wing's performance the second half of the year, I'm perplexed and now turn my head toward GM Greg Bibb as the reason Dallas seems to be in a cha-cha mode:

Per Coach J:

• I initially hated her "give me 5 minutes" stints because, IMO, it destroyed continuity. She adjusted that approach and did a smoother job of playing the hot hand.
• Coach J. was very much for the entire team sharing the ball.. It was a hard sell, given that Arike seemingly had carte blanche for years. BTW, this "let it rip" approach was not confined to Arike -- Satou Sabally was very much an ISO devotee.
• However, once she got Big T into the middle on a starting basis, the ball was being shared in the point and others -- Thornton -- started getting involved.
• When Arike and Sabally were out, I thought Coach J did a very good job of working with Allisha Gray and Marina Mabrey to balance their individual scoring talents along with the team approach. Plus, she got to insert Veronica Burton at point guard, which was a natural for her, given Coach J's preference for defense-first approach. Good balance
• There were/some major question marks regarding high-visibility draft choices languishing on the bench (Charli Collier,Tyasha Harris), but those might say more about whether those choices were merited.

Ultimately, this decision says as much to me about Bibb, who seems to have amassed a lot of parts that seemingly aren't quite meshing. Coach J was trying to incorporate some form of defense and ball sharing. Unless there's some behind-the-scenes squabbling going on we don't know about, it looks like the Wings were buying it. I was looking forward to Bella Alarie coming back and joining Big T to give some very solid lane play. The big question mark, ironically, was whether Arike could make her game mesh more with the team approach, as Gray and Mabrey were attempting.

No need now. Will be interesting to see if Bibb keeps his roster unchanged -- meaning he believes in his work -- or if he tweaks, recognizing not all the parts fit.

Meanwhile, let's see if Coach J arrives in Indianapolis for an interview with the Indiana Fever.

Oh and Btw that's crazy you had this thought in regards to Mabrey and Gray when those 2 were the main voices wanting her gone LOL. Gray requested to be traded due to VJ coaching style and favoritism towards Arike , Mabrey was always confused on VJ's rotations. Harrison is a free agent and she's definitely leaving (see tik toc) and Bella Alarie is pretty much an afterthought at this point.

 

[MSSportsGuy]

Dallas is lesser than the sum of their parts and I don't know whose fault that is. Maybe it's the GM, coaching, team chemistry, but it's not working as well as it should.

With Seattle seemingly in transition the Wings have a chance to move up in league standings with all the talent on that roster but it will take the right coach to manage it.

 

[GCKSFN4L]

Going 32-36 in 2 years that you agreed upon contractually speaks no volumes in being retained. Yeah she trended a little towards the end like 5 games but overall she was not good and this was a good move if not earlier.

They did make the playoffs in her two years as a coach and this was their most wins as a franchise since the move to Dallas. So this firing seems unwarranted unless it's either player driven or if they have a big coach upgrade in the works.

It did appear that Arike and VJ didn't see eye to eye at times and players like Charli and Harrison speaking out on social media didn't help her case either. I still think this all goes back to Bibb, he overloads his teams with multiple players with similar skill sets and usually wastes quality talent on the bench. And just like clockwork when players leave Dallas they typically have much better seasons as in the cases of Moriah, Skylar and Azurà.

 

[WFFL]

They did make the playoffs in her two years as a coach and this was their most wins as a franchise since the move to Dallas. So this firing seems unwarranted unless it's either player driven or if they have a big coach upgrade in the works.

It did appear that Arike and VJ didn't see eye to eye at times and players like Charli and Harrison speaking out on social media didn't help her case either. I still think this all goes back to Bibb, he overloads his teams with multiple players with similar skill sets and usually wastes quality talent on the bench. And just like clockwork when players leave Dallas they typically have much better seasons as in the cases of Moriah, Skylar and Azurà.

They made the playoffs because the bottom 4-6 teams were just as bad lol. Its not like they won their way into the playoffs . VJ and Arike were actually on the same page the entire 2 years. It was VJ's relationship with the rest of the players that saw her way out. Moriah did a little better in minnesota when she first arrived then cooled off to the wings player we saw a lot. Skylar wanted to leave but she was All WNBA as a Dallas wing as well lol. Azure did not spend enough time in Dallas to become a contributor with her injury then the overhaul came with trade demands from skylar , Liz , etc which made Azure do the same.

 

[GCKSFN4L]

I hope the W and the network remembers this when it comes time to negotiate the next TV deal.

 

[JellyBean]

Sad but this is the nature of the business. I wish Coach Vickie Johnson the best.

 

[GCKSFN4L]

Phoenix Mercury will be under new ownership next season.