What Are Kelly's Chances To Stick With The Sun?

[JoePgh]

Most of the focus on the Sun's roster and probable cuts before Opening Night have been on the front court. Based on a recent article in the Courant, Jonquel Jones / Brionna Jones / Morgan Tuck / Lynette Kizer are essentially guaranteed to have roster spots, and that one remaining slot for 4-5 players is open to competition between Danielle Adams and Rashanda Gray (now that Hamson has been cut). Kayla Pederson may theoretically also be a candidate, but I doubt that she really is. So there will be five players on the final roster for those two positions.

My opinion is that Alyssa Thomas is also a guaranteed roster spot and the likely starter at the 3 position. Probably Shekinna Stricklen will be the other 3 who is retained, if only because she has a multi-year contract (reportedly).

That leaves 5 backcourt positions to fill out the roster. I think we can safely assume that three of them will be occupied by Alex Bentley, Jasmine Thomas, and Courtney Williams. That leaves 4 guards to fill the remaining two positions:

Kelly Faris
Allison Hightower
Rachel Banham
Jessica January

From the moment she was selected as the overall #4 pick in last year's draft, I have never thought much of Banham's game at the WNBA level. For my money, she would be the first cut from this group, but given the Sun's investment in her, I don't think they will make that decision.

If that is correct, then Kelly will be competing with Hightower and January for the last slot. I think she would be picked over January if only because of the experience factor and the fact that she is a "known quantity". So the question is whether she will be able to outcompete Hightower for that last slot. Hightower is a better athlete who can score. Before her injury, she was a capable defender. If the coaches think that she is just as good (and just as durable) now as she was before her injury, I guess they will probably pick her. If there are any questions about Hightower's recovery or her present ability, then I think Kelly will be retained.

So I guess I would give Kelly about a 40-45% chance to be on the Opening Night roster. Personally, I am pulling for her.

 

[psconn]

I'm not sure how this pans out from here. Jess January is playing very well and is one tough cookie. If she stayed she would be a crowd favorite for sure. Hightower does not look as explosive as she was ,and is shooting poorly so far (like 12%). She may need some time to shake off over 2 years of rust, but time is is a luxury the Sun can't easily afford. Much depends on existing contracts, also. You can't always afford to just literally go with the best 12 in camp.

Things get very tough now and some really good players will get waived. I think your odd on Kelly staying are a little generous, but she has been beating the odds every year she has played in the W. I can't count her out.

 

[eebmg]

I wish Kelly would stick but I do not see it. Quite frankly, she simply has not improved her game. She has had many opportunities and has not taken advantage of them. I for one cannot understand it. I don't think she is physically overwhelmed and she can get open shots but she is just not making any impact on the offensive side at least. Recently, I replayed her national title games at UConn and she was so confident on the offensive side of the ball. Again, no explanation.

 

[Fairfield Fan]

When is cut day? Tomorrow is the first day of the season, right? Is this afternoon crunch time?

 

[emjay]

When is cut day? Tomorrow is the first day of the season, right? Is this afternoon crunch time?

It's still preseason. The Sun have one more preseason game at New York tomorrow. Season opener is May 13th I believe, against Atlanta at Mohegan Sun.

I'm not confident that Kelly Faris (or Hightower) will make the final cut. She has brought great personality and strength of character to the Sun the past few years, but they need a reliable perimeter scorer (like Adams). It would be nice if Faris could continue working with the team, or another WNBA team, in some capacity.

 

[JoePgh]

It's still preseason. The Sun have one more preseason game at New York tomorrow. Season opener is May 13th I believe, against Atlanta at Mohegan Sun.

I'm not confident that Kelly Faris (or Hightower) will make the final cut. She has brought great personality and strength of character to the Sun the past few years, but they need a reliable perimeter scorer (like Adams). It would be nice if Faris could continue working with the team, or another WNBA team, in some capacity.

I don't think that Kelly is competing directly against Danielle Adams for a slot. I think that most WNBA teams including the Sun predefine their roster slots by position, and I am guessing that they are planning for 5 frontcourt slots, 2 wings, and 5 guards. So Adams would be competing for a frontcourt slot and Kelly will compete for a guard slot -- most likely against Hightower and January.

 

[Roger G]

Kelly's career arc, or lack thereof, has pretty much followed what Kalana did. One just keeps wishing they would assert themselves. They both have the talent but something keeps them from showing it.

 

[Bigboote]

On the Geno show a couple of years ago he was talking about how there must be a good fit between player and team. He cited Kelly as one who wound up on a team that's a bad fit. I dunno if their style has changed with the coaching change.

 

[Roger G]

On the Geno show a couple of years ago he was talking about how there must be a good fit between player and team. He cited Kelly as one who wound up on a team that's a bad fit. I dunno if their style has changed with the coaching change.

The style has changed a lot with the coaching change. Anne Donovan directed a kind of stagnant offense of players going to various positions. I guess it was predicated on there being a really dominant post player and then Tina Charles left. Curt Miller's style is much more fluid. It started to look really pretty at the end of last year. But Kelly won't fit the style if she won't take open shots. There doesn't seem to be anybody who is so dominating on offense that they can take up the slack if she won't score. You've got to be a scorer in the pros. Frankly, it's the reason Hamson was cut. Hamson obviously was strong defensively (seven blocks in two games) but couldn't hit consistently.

 

[psconn]

On the Geno show a couple of years ago he was talking about how there must be a good fit between player and team. He cited Kelly as one who wound up on a team that's a bad fit. I dunno if their style has changed with the coaching change.

I don't think Geno would ever say that an active player "is a bad fit" on the team they are still playing for. Why would he say something that could undermine her spot on the team? Do you have the clip? I'm guessing he was talking in more general in response to a question about Kelly?

 

[Bigboote]

I don't think Geno would ever say that an active player "is a bad fit" on the team they are still playing for. Why would he say something that could undermine her spot on the team? Do you have the clip? I'm guessing he was talking in more general in response to a question about Kelly?

I may have the words wrong -- it may have been something more along the lines of not a good fit, not the right player for the system, mismatch, or such. I don't have a clip, but Kerith asked a pretty open-ended question , could have been about how his players were doing in the W, about his recruiting process (i. e., finding players who fit). . . I specifically remember it because I had thought the same thing.