WNBA Off-Season News

[Argonaut]

Getting a good coach will be make-or-break. What about Geno? There’s no restriction on what a WNBA team can pay their coach, right? C’mon Mr. Tsai $$$$$$

Geno needs to stay right where he is, tyvm.

 

[j66kicker]

Odyssey gets 10 days house arrest and 4 years probation for her DWI...

Lynx leading scorer Sims pleads guilty to DWI

Odyssey Sims, the Lynx's leading scorer, was sentenced to house arrest after pleading guilty Thursday to one of two DWI charges stemming from an arrest in June. The other charge was dismissed.

www.espn.com

 

[CamrnCrz1974]

Also, getting Han Xu to play well enough to be a decent contributor will invigorate the Chinese-American Community which is very significant in Brooklyn which would add a lot of energy.

It is not guaranteed that Han Xu will even play in the WNBA next year. First, China has yet to qualify for the 2020 Summer Olympics. If China qualifies, she might stay home -- as other international players have done -- for preparation with her national team.

And there is also the matter of the now strained relations between China and the NBA...

NBA commissioner Adam Silver said Thursday that the league is already dealing with "fairly dramatic" financial consequences from Houston Rockets GM Daryl Morey's support of Hong Kong's anti-government protesters.

"The losses have already been substantial," Silver said at the Time 100 Summit, in his first public comments about the NBA's relationship with China since he returned to the U.S. from China earlier this week. "Our games are not back on the air in China as we speak, and we'll see what happens next.

"I don't know where we go from here. The financial consequences have been and may continue to be fairly dramatic."

Silver: Financial losses in China 'substantial'

 

[eebmg]

It is not guaranteed that Han Xu will even play in the WNBA next year. First, China has yet to qualify for the 2020 Summer Olympics. If China qualifies, she might stay home -- as other international players have done -- for preparation with her national team.

And there is also the matter of the now strained relations between China and the NBA...

NBA commissioner Adam Silver said Thursday that the league is already dealing with "fairly dramatic" financial consequences from Houston Rockets GM Daryl Morey's support of Hong Kong's anti-government protesters.

"The losses have already been substantial," Silver said at the Time 100 Summit, in his first public comments about the NBA's relationship with China since he returned to the U.S. from China earlier this week. "Our games are not back on the air in China as we speak, and we'll see what happens next.

"I don't know where we go from here. The financial consequences have been and may continue to be fairly dramatic."

Silver: Financial losses in China 'substantial'

Very good points.

 

[j66kicker]

Dream can't make a deal with Hawks to stay in State Farm Arena, moving to new 3500-seat arena near the airport...

Dream moving to 3,500-seat arena in Atlanta

The Atlanta Dream are moving to a new, 3,500-seat arena they will share with the Hawks' G League franchise.

www.espn.com

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

And the arena holds less than their reported average attendance which was lowest in the league. Hmmm.

I am very suspicious of WNBA attendance figures, although I am only basing that on Liberty games I attended over 15 years ago or so and some TV games probably close to 10 years or so ago. Maybe attendance is more accurate.

Like the LIberty experienced in Westchester, this is not a move to improve the Dream's fan base.

 

[j66kicker]

And the arena holds less than their reported average attendance which was lowest in the league. Hmmm.

I am very suspicious of WNBA attendance figures, although I am only basing that on Liberty games I attended over 15 years ago or so and some TV games probably close to 10 years or so ago. Maybe attendance is more accurate.

Like the LIberty experienced in Westchester, this is not a move to improve the Dream's fan base.

Sounds like they just can’t afford the nice, big arena if they aren’t going to fill it. If the new place is smaller than their last year’s average attendance, then they will probably just have to cut back on the comps and focus on paying customers.

 

[UConnCat]

 

[UConnCat]

 

[UConnCat]

 

[j66kicker]

Skydig didn’t mention getting paid her entire salary the year she was off, while the Wings were only obligated to pay half. Team says they make psychologists available individually to the players as well. ??

Diggins-Smith: Played pregnant; no team support

Dallas Wings guard Skylar Diggins-Smith fired off a number of tweets on Friday and Saturday, including one that said she dealt with postpartum depression.

www.espn.com

 

[Bigboote]

I'm not quite sure what to make of Skylar's point of view. This article

Skylar Diggins-Smith practices on limited basis after giving birth, plans to return to Wings this season

Heading into the Wings' first day of training camp on Saturday, neither of the Wings All-Stars from last season were expected to be...

www.dallasnews.com

seems to indicate something different from what she is saying now. It says she was practicing in early May "a few weeks" after giving birth. Assuming this is 1-2 months, that would put her getting pregnant in the second half of the season, and finding out probably sometime toward the very end or after the season. It also says that Brian Agler had a meeting with the three mothers on the team (Skylar, Glory Johnson, and Tayler Hill), along with a bunch of other mothers associated with the team and other local basketball teams. It sounds like the team is quite supportive of mothers.

I'm not minimizing what she's gone through; the support she's gotten apparently isn't right for her, but it doesn't sound like she got no team support.

 

[Moose]

I'm not quite sure what to make of Skylar's point of view. This article

Skylar Diggins-Smith practices on limited basis after giving birth, plans to return to Wings this season

Heading into the Wings' first day of training camp on Saturday, neither of the Wings All-Stars from last season were expected to be...

www.dallasnews.com

seems to indicate something different from what she is saying now. It says she was practicing in early May "a few weeks" after giving birth. Assuming this is 1-2 months, that would put her getting pregnant in the second half of the season, and finding out probably sometime toward the very end or after the season. It also says that Brian Agler had a meeting with the three mothers on the team (Skylar, Glory Johnson, and Tayler Hill), along with a bunch of other mothers associated with the team and other local basketball teams. It sounds like the team is quite supportive of mothers.

I'm not minimizing what she's gone through; the support she's gotten apparently isn't right for her, but it doesn't sound like she got no team support.

I'm also not sure what to make of this. On the one hand, parenting and working fulltime is very, very hard, and different person-to-person, and I think Skylar can make some good points on this topic, and be a positive voice. Skylar seems to be undercutting herself by saying she was pregnant the entire season. On the other hand, Bria Hartley was pregnant the entire season. I would like to know how the challenges faced by athletes are different from other mothers/parents that work full time.

Thibault: Hartley knew about pregnancy for "some time"

We now know a bit more on when the Mystics knew that Bria Hartley was pregnant.

www.bulletsforever.com

 

[Jmsdawg]

Surely Geno's ready to step up and prove himself at the Pro level!

I believe Geno will retire at UConn. No more mountains that must be climbed!

 

[boontonbomber]

Never fails to amaze me, and is also quite annoying, that with all the mention of Nurse,Durr, and Charles, that there's little mention of Bria. She's their best defensive player, scored 10 a game this season, outrebounded and out- assisted Nurse. She is still dynamic and and handles the ball just fine. I like Kia, but I think Bria's more valuable.

 

[Dillon77]

Not an on-court related development, but the WNBA announced that Indiana Fever forward Natalie "Ace" Achonwa has earned the Seasonlong WNBA Community Assist Award presented by State Farm in recognition of her commitment and dedication to giving back to the community.

Natalie Achonwa Receives Seasonlong WNBA Community Assist Award Presented By State Farm - WNBA.com - Official Site of the WNBA

Indiana Fever's Natalie Achonwa earns the Seasonlong WNBA Community Assist Award presented by State Farm in recognition of her community involvement.

www.wnba.com

Ace will receive another honor in early November when her alma mater, Notre Dame, inducts her into the Ring of Honor, joining Ruth Riley, Skylar Diggins, Beth Morgan Cunningham, Niele Ivey and Kayla McBride. After that, she'll (re)join Canada's national team in the pre-Olympic qualifying tournament.

She's still one of my favorite Irish players. Tip of the hat to Ace!

 

[Bigboote]

She's still one of my favorite Irish players. Tip of the hat to Ace!

Ditto -- this from a UConn fan, so I don't have nearly as many favorites.

 

[Plebe]

Ditto -- this from a UConn fan, so I don't have nearly as many favorites.

Yep, my heartfelt congratulations to the flopper

 

[Dillon77]

Yep, my heartfelt congratulations to the flopper

Coming from you, that's virtually a testimonial!

Down the road, I think she's another one of the relatively recent Irish players who will get into coaching. Duffy has (at Marquette), Mabrey1 is back at ND, K-Mac is spending time at ND this winter and I think Ace would make a very good coach and teacher.