Sun and Storm Trade -- Renee to Seattle

[RSHERMVIKES]

WHEN AD cuts Kelly Faris in preseason camp she will complete her goal when she signed with the Sun of getting rid of any trace to UCONN & Geno Auriemma!

 

[RSHERMVIKES]

I worry about chemistry. Last year it seemed pretty good. Renee has always been a good glue player as was Chiney. Dunno how these guys will blend. At least 3 new players (assuming the Sun are done trading), Loss of the team's star player (again), short training camp, and a short season = no real time to gel.

Unfortunately, odds are greatly against Kelly staying with the Sun this year IMO. She didn't show a lot so far as a pro, and even in the WNBL (where Kelsey Griffin is a genuine star) she was not impressive. 12 to a roster and a #4 pick coming in (maybe). How do you keep her? Her only hope is that the Sun finally give up on McCray, but even then...

13 as of today...
PLAYER POS HT
Alex Bentley G 5''7"
Kelsey Bone F-C 6'4"
Katie Douglas G-F 6'0"
Kelly Faris G 5"11"
Kelsey Griffin F 6'2"
Allison Hightower G 5'10"
Ebony Hoffman F 6'2"
Danielle McCray G-F 5'11"
Kayla Pedersen F 6'4"
Alyssa Thomas F 6'2"
Shekinna Stricklen F-G 6'2"
Camille Little F 6'2"
Chelsea Gray G 5'11"

Geno made the comment just before the draft a couple of years ago that Kelly Faris has to go to the perfect situation where the team can let Kelly use her skills that make her great! He mentioned PHX as that type of team. Obviously the Sun isn't that type of team!

 

[MattF]

It's amazing to me that Donovan never saw the potential gift she has in Faris. Relentless, hard working, steady and is a cohesive force for any team. Auriemma saw it and banked on it. So dumb that Donovan (and others) have seen fit to tear down her self-confidence.

 

[mr006]

rocky rococo- - - You could have coached Seattle to the 2004 title with Sue Bird, Lauren Jackson, Swin Cash, & MVP Betty Lennox among other stars!
And any dead person, oh wait, we're talking Anne Donovan here, could have won the Olympic Title with the greatest players in the world on your bench! The WBB Olympic Head Coach's prayer is " Please God don't let me F this up!" Geno has said several time you don't OVER COACH this team you give them direction and discipline and get out of their way!

Swin was not with Seattle until 2008, but point made.

 

[svetbird]

as a die hard storm fan, you guys will love Little. Strick drives me crazy and never seems to play up to her potential. So happy about this trade. can't wait to see Renee in our jersey! too bad it took Little I guess my Little jersey is vintage now...

 

[Beemer]

The Sun had to do something to make up for the loss of Chiney.
She may be back by mid-July, but maybe not.

Chris Sienko said he didn't recommend her coming back at all this season, that she should just rehabilitate the knee & be ready for 2016. And honestly I hope that is what she does, no need to jeopardize her health & career.

 

[Beemer]

WHEN AD cuts Kelly Faris in preseason camp she will complete her goal when she signed with the Sun of getting rid of any trace to UCONN & Geno Auriemma!

Really? You really believe this nonsense you posted??

 

[Waquoit]

Chris Sienko said he didn't recommend her coming back at all this season, ...

If only he was talking about Donovan. She's a disaster.

 

[Beemer]

If only he was talking about Donovan. She's a disaster.

Disasters don't win WNBA titles. And don't give me that crap about how anyone could have coached the 04 Storm to that championship. If it were true that anyone could coach championship caliber players I'd have Geno's job.

 

[psconn]

It's amazing to me that Donovan never saw the potential gift she has in Faris. Relentless, hard working, steady and is a cohesive force for any team. Auriemma saw it and banked on it. So dumb that Donovan (and others) have seen fit to tear down her self-confidence.

I love Kelly but the pro and college games are at totally different levels. At this point she just is not good enough to be a solid contributor. If she was marginal in the WNBL how could you think she'd be solid in the WNBA?

 

[Waquoit]

Disasters don't win WNBA titles. And don't give me that crap about how anyone could have coached the 04 Storm to that championship. If it were true that anyone could coach championship caliber players I'd have Geno's job.

Her title was a long time ago. Even Lombardi didn't have it when he came back. Anyone who can look at what she's done to the Sun in the last two years and still carry her water must be on the payroll.

 

[Beemer]

Her title was a long time ago. Even Lombardi didn't have it when he came back. Anyone who can look at what she's done to the Sun in the last two years and still carry her water must be on the payroll.

Good God. You make it sound like the Sun deliberately hired a bad coach so the team would lose. She hasn't "done" anything to the Sun, not in the way you are implying.

I'm not saying Donovan is perfect, she isn't, she makes her share of mistakes like every other coach in the WNBA.

IMO she got a raw deal her first season- it became obvious as the season went on that many players resented her because of their loyalty to Mike Thibault, which IMO was damned unprofessional on their part. So they dogged it.
That team was painful to watch.

Last year it was the Tina Charles debacle & an infusion of young players. Yet that team played hard every.single.game. despite ending the season with another losing record. They even put together a six game winning streak. It was a complete 180 degree turn from the previous year which does not happen without the players respecting their coach and buying into her system. The Sun were actually fun to watch again.

I think this year will be the test. If the Sun have a winning record and make the playoffs the Sun's decision to hire her will be vindicated. If not they probably won't bring her back in 2016 and they'll be back at square one.

For now the team is in the midst of a re-build and everyone is dumping on the coach. In one respect that is normal but the venom directed at Donovan here makes me wonder if some of you aren't related to Mike Thibault in some way.............

 

[Waquoit]

It was a complete 180 degree turn from the previous year ...

The Sun was 25-9 when they choked and fired Thibault. Donovan took that team and went 10-24. The team then goes 13-21 and you call that a "complete 180 degree turn"? Yeesh.

 

[RSHERMVIKES]

Good God. You make it sound like the Sun deliberately hired a bad coach so the team would lose. She hasn't "done" anything to the Sun, not in the way you are implying.

I'm not saying Donovan is perfect, she isn't, she makes her share of mistakes like every other coach in the WNBA.

IMO she got a raw deal her first season- it became obvious as the season went on that many players resented her because of their loyalty to Mike Thibault, which IMO was damned unprofessional on their part. So they dogged it.
That team was painful to watch.

Last year it was the Tina Charles debacle & an infusion of young players. Yet that team played hard every.single.game. despite ending the season with another losing record. They even put together a six game winning streak. It was a complete 180 degree turn from the previous year which does not happen without the players respecting their coach and buying into her system. The Sun were actually fun to watch again.

I think this year will be the test. If the Sun have a winning record and make the playoffs the Sun's decision to hire her will be vindicated. If not they probably won't bring her back in 2016 and they'll be back at square one.

For now the team is in the midst of a re-build and everyone is dumping on the coach. In one respect that is normal but the venom directed at Donovan here makes me wonder if some of you aren't related to Mike Thibault in some way...

Beemer- - - The problem with the CT Sun and Anne Donovan is the Sun fired Mike Thibault on Nov. 2 and hired AD on Jan. 20th! Who fires one of the best coaches in the WNBA then waits 2 1/2 months to hire AD? If you plan on firing Mike T. you have his replacement already hired, standing by to be announced asap! After that amount of time they were left with the dregs! If the Sun truly wanted AD as first choice to replace MT, why wait so long to hire her? I have never liked AD, she is a mean, nasty woman, who screwed Barbara Turner big time when she was with Seattle, and we started to see how AD felt about UCONN players and now she's gotten rid of everyone and Kelly Faris in camp will make it a clean sweep!

 

[Striper69]

Her title was a long time ago. Even Lombardi didn't have it when he came back. Anyone who can look at what she's done to the Sun in the last two years and still carry her water must be on the payroll.

That's not a fair assessment of what's happened at Conn. She took over from a coach whose players (some of them anyway) wanted the old coach to stay. So much so they packed it in for the season.
So she's had to rebuild the team from the ground up. She got a couple of nice draft choices and the team might've been a playoff team this year except for Chiney's injury. They still might make it this year but DC will get better and better.

 

[Striper69]

Beemer- - - The problem with the CT Sun and Anne Donovan is the Sun fired Mike Thibault on Nov. 2 and hired AD on Jan. 20th! Who fires one of the best coaches in the WNBA then waits 2 1/2 months to hire AD? If you plan on firing Mike T. you have his replacement already hired, standing by to be announced asap! After that amount of time they were left with the dregs! If the Sun truly wanted AD as first choice to replace MT, why wait so long to hire her? I have never liked AD, she is a mean, nasty woman, who screwed Barbara Turner big time when she was with Seattle, and we started to see how AD felt about UCONN players and now she's gotten rid of everyone and Kelly Faris in camp will make it a clean sweep!

She didn't seem any nastier than any other coach from what I've seen. All of them are pretty competitive and they have to be.

It remains to be seen if Faris is back but if they're smart they'll keep her and find ways to use her.

 

[hoophuskee]

Sad to see all the huskies including RM leave. To be honest I'm not sure of the trade with all the players including draft picks. Hope it works out for both.

However, with that said, our coach drove out Tina and seemed like she used her in some crackpot way. She's accomplished nothing for a long, long time. It still is mind-boggling the GM kicked out Coach T. And this trade better not hurt us for the Stewie sweepstakes.

 

[Waquoit]

That's not a fair assessment of what's happened at Conn. She took over from a coach whose players (some of them anyway) wanted the old coach to stay. So much so they packed it in for the season.
So she's had to rebuild the team from the ground up. She got a couple of nice draft choices and the team might've been a playoff team this year except for Chiney's injury. They still might make it this year but DC will get better and better.

I've noticed the party line from the AD supporters. The players she inherited were a bunch of quitters so she had to run them out of town and rebuild. Wrong, the failed relationship with the players is on her. Only a hack can't find a way to work with MVP caliber players. And it was real classy the way she smeared Tina Charles after she dumped her.

And now four months before the first game, the AD supporters are already making excuses for another lousy season. I wouldn't be surprised if AD was popping the cork when Chiney went down. Her main goal is keeping her job and towards that end having an excuse for losing is just as good as winning.

And I love that line "DC will get better and better". I wonder why?

 

[RSHERMVIKES]

She didn't seem any nastier than any other coach from what I've seen. All of them are pretty competitive and they have to be.

It remains to be seen if Faris is back but if they're smart they'll keep her and find ways to use her.

Striper- - - I'm referring to:
1. when AD was at Seattle Barbara Turner was one of her players, BT was playing in Europe with a couple weeks left and Seattle camp was getting ready to open. AD contacted BT telling her she better be at 1st practice or she'll be cut so BT left her Euro team, breaking her contract, and after the 2nd practice AD cut her and BT was sued by Euro team for breaking contract!
2. When Kara Lawson was with the Sun, she hurt her back and couldn't play, right after her Dad had a heart attack and KL told AD/Sun she was going to rehab in VA and help take care of her Dad. After a couple weeks AD told Kara she had to come back & rehab in CT! Kara said no her Dad was still not well so she stayed. After the season The Sun traded KL and at the presser to announce the trade AD said she didn't want anyone on her team that had no desire to play, and didn't give 100% to the team! Why say something nasty, just thank KL for her time in CT and leave it at that, but no she had to bad mouth KL. And most BYers would say KL never had ANY problem with attitude/desire she would run through a wall for any team she played on!
3. In a few presser's after losses with the Sun she did a J. P. McCallie impression and bad mouthed some performances throwing them under the bus!
She's just a nasty, rotten human being! The Sun could have gotten someone better than AD in 2 1/2 months between MT getting fired and AD being hired!

 

[RSHERMVIKES]

And personally I don't care if The Sun has ANY UCONN players, but it sure seems AD has a dislike for UCONN players maybe she doesn't like Geno, I don't know! The only UCONN player she didn't can was Sue Bird, and the fans in Seattle would have burned AD at the stake if she ever tried that!

 

[hoophuskee]

I've noticed the party line from the AD supporters. The players she inherited were a bunch of quitters so she had to run them out of town and rebuild. Wrong, the failed relationship with the players is on her. Only a hack can't find a way to work with MVP caliber players. And it was real classy the way she smeared Tina Charles after she dumped her.

And now four months before the first game, the AD supporters are already making excuses for another lousy season. I wouldn't be surprised if AD was popping the cork when Chiney went down. Her main goal is keeping her job and towards that end having an excuse for losing is just as good as winning.

And I love that line "DC will get better and better". I wonder why?

Definitely not popping the cork. But anyways--------- the rest of it I agree.

 

[Waquoit]

Definitely not popping the cork. But anyways--------- the rest of it I agree.

Perhaps some slight hyperbole there

 

[mrmojack]

The Ct Sun have not been right since Mike Thibault left. Tina Charles couldn't
get out of there fast enough. Renee probably felt the same way.
Thibault seems to like Uconn girls (Dolson/Hartley). I would not be
surprised of he drafted Kiah Stokes at #8, but would raather see her go
to the Lynx at #11. I think that is a very good situation for Kiah. She can
learn from Brunson and McCarvel and have time to work on her offense.

 

[Beemer]

That's not a fair assessment of what's happened at Conn. She took over from a coach whose players (some of them anyway) wanted the old coach to stay. So much so they packed it in for the season.
So she's had to rebuild the team from the ground up. She got a couple of nice draft choices and the team might've been a playoff team this year except for Chiney's injury. They still might make it this year but DC will get better and better.

the Mystics will improve but they won't win a championship. Thibault just can't get his teams over the hump, that's why Sienko fired him.

 

[Beemer]

As for Huskies on or off the Sun roster here is a column that sums up my thinking pretty accurately- not usually a fan of DiMauro but he nailed it:

http://www.theday.com/sports-columns/20150201/sun-had-to-make-this-deal